The regional government of Madrid announced Wednesday that it was relaxing the coronavirus curfew, despite having one of Spain’s highest infection rates.

Nearly one in every 200 Madrid residents has been infected by the virus during the last two weeks. The only part of Spain with a worse infection rate is the small African outpost of Melilla.
Coronavirus patients are also still occupying 48% of the region’s intensive care units.
Throughout the pandemic, the conservative Madrid government has taken Spain’s most liberal approach to battling the virus.
Since the first wave, the region has avoided closing bars or restaurants, whereas most other regions have shut them down or limited them to outdoor-only. Nightclubs and large concert venues also remain open, although dancing is technically forbidden.
The local infection rate is declining, however, triggering the Madrid government to push back the curfew from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. and allowing businesses to stay open late.
More than 85,000 of Madrid’s 6.6 million residents have been hospitalized for the virus and 13,408 people have died. In contrast, Catalonia, with 7.5 million people, has seen nearly 38,000 hospitalizations and 10,029 deaths.
Across Spain, the epidemiological situation is improving. On Wednesday, the Health Ministry reported 10,829 new cases and 337 new deaths – each figure down drastically from the previous week.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry announced that people aged 45 to 55 are next in line to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine after essential workers like teachers, police and emergency workers, unless they have health risks.
In parallel, the RNA vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna will be given out by age groups after the vaccination campaign for nursing homes and frontline health care workers is complete, which is already the case in several parts of Spain.
First, vaccines will be given to those older than 80, next to ones in their 70s, then 60s and then to people younger than 60 with serious health conditions.
Spain has administered 2.7 million vaccines, with 1.1 million people having received both doses.
More than 2.3% of the population has received the full dose, compared to 0.8% in the UK, where officials are opting to give more people single doses.

More than 85,000 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in capital region; more than twice as many as anywhere else

Spain has administered 2.7 million vaccines, with 1.1 million people having received both doses

Madrid relaxes curfew despite high infection rate

A delegation of the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, led by Minister Selmo Cikotić, met today in Bihać with the European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson and Head of the EU Delegation to B&amp;H, Ambassador Johann Sattler.

The meeting was also attended by the Prime Minister of the Una-Sana Canton Mustafa Ružnić, the Mayor of Bihać Šuhret Fazlić and the Police Commissioner of the Una-Sana Canton Mujo Koričić.
The officials discussed the ongoing migrant situation in B&amp;H, with a special focus on the humanitarian and safety situation in the Una-Sana Canton (USC).
After that, Commissioner Johansson and Minister Cikotić will visit the temporary reception center Lipa, which was established by the joint action of the BiH institutions to accommodate about a thousand migrants during the winter period.
On the second day of Commissioner Johansson's visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, she will continue talks with Minister Cikotić, the officials of the B&amp;H Border Police and the B&amp;H Service for Foreigners Affairs primarily to discuss combating illegal migration and migration management in B&amp;H, stated the B&amp;H Ministry of Security.

The meeting was also attended by the Prime Minister of the Una-Sana Canton Mustafa Ružnić, the Mayor of Bihać Šuhret Fazlić and the Police Commissioner of the Una-Sana Canton Mujo Koričić

The officials discussed the ongoing migrant situation in B&H, with a special focus on the humanitarian and safety situation in the Una-Sana Canton

Cikotić speaks with Commissioner Johansson about the migrant situation in B&H

Professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the University of Sarajevo, Teufik Goletić, is advocating with all levels of government in B&amp;H for the support of the laboratory of that faculty, for systemic supervision of SARS-CoV-2 sequencing.

He is the head of the laboratory where the sequencing of samples is performed, with the aim of detecting virus mutations. In early February, they confirmed the first case of the presence of a British strain of the virus in B&amp;H. The laboratory of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine has so far identified a total of five samples of the British variant of the virus.
However, as he said in a statement to FENA, the continuation of sequencing, especially the timely one (not a retrospective one), in the laboratory of the Veterinary Faculty is not possible without the financial support of the competent ministries and public health institutions in procuring the necessary materials (the kits, chemicals, enzymes, etc.)
-Since the news about circulation and other variant strains, such as the one about the alleged identification of VOC P.1 (the so-called Brazilian variant) in our neighboring Republic of Croatia, practically appear one after the other the issue of support to the laboratory of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine which has the capacity is of crucial and safety importance for all levels of government in B&amp;H. They should, without delay, ensure that the issue of organizing and financing the systemic monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 sequencing is resolved as early as yesterday- Goletić pointed out.
As professor Goletić underlined, all previous research has been done using their own scientific and financial resources and with the support of international organizations UNDP in B&amp;H and the IAEA.

In early February, he confirmed the first case of the presence of a British strain of the virus in B&H

Teufik Goletić, a professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the University of Sarajevo

Goletić: Continuation of SARS-CoV-2 sequencing not possible without financing

Director of the Agency for the Promotion of Foreign Investments in B&amp;H (FIPA) Milica Marković talked with the Ambassador of Switzerland to B&amp;H Daniel Hunn about the current economic cooperation between the two countries with a focus on realized investments from Switzerland and the interest of new investors for investing in B&amp;H.

She informed the Ambassador about the possibilities of investing in the energy and agricultural sector, as well as the IT, wood and tourism sectors, emphasizing the importance of using natural potentials to promote the investment opportunities of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
She also pointed out that the cooperation between FIPA and the Embassy is very important on many grounds, primarily in enabling potential investors to obtain relevant data on investment in B&amp;H.
Ambassador Hunn stated that there is great potential for investment in the B&amp;H diaspora in Switzerland, which has more than 60,000 people in that country.
It was emphasized that the Agency and the Embassy can cooperate more in the field of organizing business forums between Swiss investors and domestic project proponents.
Switzerland is in 10th place in terms of the number of investments in B&amp;H, with 457 million KM invested so far. Among the most important investors from Switzerland in B&amp;H are Arcelor Mittal (metal industry), Daccomet AG - Standard a.d. Prnjavor (wood industry), Bontex d.o.o. Maglaj (textile industry), and Wagner Automotiv d.o.o. Gradačac (automotive industry), FIPA said.

Ambassador Hunn stated that there is great potential for investment in the B&H diaspora in Switzerland

It was emphasized that the Agency and the Embassy can cooperate more in the field of organizing business forums between Swiss investors and domestic project proponents

Swiss Ambassador and Director of FIPA on investors' interest in new investments

Representatives of pro-Bosnian parties who arrived in Srebrenica today for a meeting with the leaders of the "My Address: Srebrenica" initiative laid flowers at the Memorial Center in Potočari and paid tribute to the victims of genocide.
Presidents of SDP Nermin Nikšić, DF Željko Komšić, SB&amp;H Amer Jerlagić, PDA Mirsad Kukić, N&amp;P Elmedin Konaković arrived in Potočari. Vice President Edin Ramić arrived on behalf of the SDA, and Anis Krivić, the party's political director, on behalf of SBB.
The arrival was also canceled by the president of Our party, Predrag Kojović.
Alija Tabaković, Ćamil Duraković, Sadik Ahmetović and Emir Suljagić welcomed the leaders and representatives of the parties.
As it was said earlier, at the meeting they will discuss the boycott of the elections scheduled for Sunday, February 21st, 2021. The meeting with the representatives of the pro-Bosnian bloc is scheduled for 2 PM in BKC Srebrenica, and after that meeting a press conference will be held.

A meeting with representatives of the pro-Bosnian bloc is scheduled for 2 PM at the BKC Srebrenica

Representatives and leaders of political parties paid tribute to the victims of genocide in Potočari

More than 1 million people in Serbia have received their first COVID-19 shot, local media reported on Wednesday.

According to state-run news agency Tanjug, more than 1 million people received their first dose of the vaccine, while some 356,010 people have been administered the second dose.
The vaccination campaign in Serbia began on Jan 19th.
Serbia is in the second place in Europe and seventh in the world in terms of the number of vaccinated per million inhabitants, according to Our World in Data tracking website.
Meanwhile, North Macedonia received nearly 5,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from Serbia, while Montenegro received 2,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccines.
Serbia received 1.5 million doses of coronavirus vaccines developed by China's Sinopharm as well as 19,500 vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and 250,000 doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine.
Another 50,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine, 88,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, and 125,000-150,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are due in the country by the end of February.

Serbia in 2nd place in Europe in terms of number of vaccinated per million inhabitants

The vaccination campaign in Serbia began on Jan 19th

Serbia: Over 1M get 1st dose of COVID-19 vaccine

In the past 24 hours, 1,699 samples were registered with the Public Health Institute of the Federation of BiH, of which 266 were positive for SARS-CoV-2.

New cases have been registered in all cantons in the Federation of B&amp;H, except in Bosnia-Podrinje.
A total of 431,960 samples have been tested so far, and SARS-CoV-2 has been confirmed in 81,947 individuals.
As of today, 75,293 patients have recovered in the Federation of B&amp;H. There are currently 4,052 SARS-CoV-2 positive cases active.
In the past 24 hours, 3 new deaths were reported to the Public Health Institute of the Federation of B&amp;H.
As of today, the number of deaths in the Federation of B&amp;H is 2,602, the FB&amp;H Public Health Institute announced.
In the last 24 hours, at the Institute of Public Health of the Republic of Srpska, the University Clinical Center of the Republic of Srpska, the University Hospital in Foča and the hospitals of Sv. Vračevi in ​​Bijeljina and Sv. apostle Luke in Doboj tested 618 laboratory samples, and coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was confirmed in 83 people.
In the last 24 hours, ten deaths have been reported to the Republic of Srpska Institute of Public Health, in which the presence of the coronavirus has been confirmed.
So far, 41,910 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Republic of Srpska, and a total of 2,188 people who have been tested for coronavirus have died.
In Republic of Srpska, 32,598 people have recovered from the new coronavirus so far, and a total of 193,913 people have been tested.
In the last 24 hours, 46 samples of coronavirus were tested in the Brčko District of B&amp;H, of which five were positive. 53 people recovered. There are currently 245 active cases of infection.

New cases have been registered in all cantons in the Federation of B&H, except in Bosnia-Podrinje

In the last 24 hours, ten deaths have been reported to the Republic of Srpska Institute of Public Health, in which the presence of the coronavirus has been confirmed

B&H registers 354 new cases of coronavirus in last 24 hours, 13 persons died

At today's session, the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted one of the key strategic documents, the Development Strategy of the Federation of B&amp;H for the period 2021-2027, which defines four priority goals.

Prime Minister of the Federation of B&amp;H, Fadil Novalić, reminded at the press conference that the FB&amp;H Parliament adopted the Law on Development Planning in 2017, with the help of USAID. We were the first in the region to adopt this law, which is a great success. Based on that law, in 2018, the Government made a decision on the development strategy. Novalić emphasized that 476 members, working groups and 1,400 participants of all levels of government and the non-governmental sector participated in the process of drafting the strategy.
-Four strategic goals have been defined - accelerated economic development, resource-efficient and sustainable development, prosperous and inclusive social development and a transparent and efficient and responsible public sector- Novalić added.
According to him, the strategy will determine the work of all governments in FB&amp;H in the next ten years. For the first time, the strategic document singles out active measures whose implementation has a significant effect on macroeconomic indicators in the FB&amp;H.
-Regarding these measures, I mean, first of all, the structural reforms that we started with the Reform Agenda and the document of socio-economic reforms- Novalić points out.
The FB&amp;H Prime Minister emphasized that according to the assessments of relevant international and domestic institutions, the full implementation of active measures brings significant GDP growth, which is the basis for every other progress in our society.

He reminded that the FB&H Parliament adopted the Law on Development Planning in 2017, with the help of USAID

Novalić: Four strategic goals have been defined - accelerated economic development, resource-efficient and sustainable development, prosperous and inclusive social development and a transparent and efficient and responsible public sector

Novalić: Four strategic goals of development of Federation of B&H

A court in Belarus on Thursday sentenced a pair of young television journalists to two years in prison for covering a protest last year, the first lengthy jail term in a legal crackdown on independent media.

Standing defiant in a cage, Katerina Bakhvalova, 27, and Daria Chultsova, 23, flashed V for victory signs as they smiled and blew kisses to the courtroom ahead of the verdict. 
The two women were detained in November while filming one of the anti-government rallies that swept Belarus after strongman Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory in an August election that the opposition and many Western countries said was fraudulent.
The women, who denied their guilt on the first day of their trial earlier this month, were accused of "attracting people to participate in a mass event" via their broadcast and convicted of leading "group actions that grossly violate public order".
Exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya praised the two journalists for their defiance following the verdict. 
"I know that we will not live in a cage. We will achieve truth and freedom -- thanks to Ekaterina Andreyeva, Daria Chultsova, all honest journalists," she wrote on her Telegram channel, using Bakhvalova's pen name.
The case also sparked widespread condemnation from press advocacy groups and diplomats in Western countries, with the US embassy in Belarus calling the charges "absurd".

After the protests broke out in August, Belarusian authorities unleashed a crackdown that left at least four protesters dead, thousands in jail and hundreds claiming torture in custody.

Bakhvalova and Chultsova, who work for the Poland-based television channel Belsat, were detained filming a rally on November 15 in support of a protester the opposition believes died at the hands of Lukashenko's security services.
-I showed these events live. For this I was thrown into jail on trumped-up charges- Belsat reported Bakhvalova as telling the judge Wednesday in her final statement before sentencing.
The demonstrator, 31-year-old former soldier Roman Bondarenko, died from brain damage in Minsk after police arrested him following a dispute in a city square that was a meeting place for the opposition.
At the time, investigators said a 31-year-old Minsk resident had shown signs of intoxication, but a doctor speaking on condition of anonymity to independent Belarusian news site Tut.by said medical staff had found no alcohol in Bondarenko's system. 
The journalist who published the story, Katerina Borisevich, and the doctor, Artyom Sorokin, were detained on November 19 on charges of "divulging medical secrets, which entailed grave consequences". They are set to go on trial Friday.
The prosecutor general's office said in a statement Thursday it had opened a criminal case into Bondarenko's death.

Lukashenko weathered the opposition protests and last week gathered loyalists for a defiant address, claiming his ex-Soviet country had defeated a foreign intervention.

The authorities are pursuing a number of criminal cases against activists and the press as the protests subside.
Eleven journalists are currently detained in connection with the protests, according to the independent Belarus Association of Journalists (BAJ).
On Wednesday a trial also began in the case of leading opposition member Viktor Babaryko, who was arrested in June ahead of the presidential election after he announced he would run against Lukashenko.
The former banker was one of several opposition figures who were arrested or fled ahead of the election.
Several Western leaders have refused to recognise the election results, while the European Union has imposed sanctions on Lukashenko and his allies.
But Lukashenko continues to receive the backing of Moscow, and on Thursday the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin would host him for talks on Monday.&nbsp;

The two women were detained in November while filming one of the anti-government rallies

Katsiaryna Andreyeva and Darya Chultsova, Belarusian journalists working for the Polish television channel Belsat accused of coordinating mass protests in 2020 by broadcasting live reports, stand inside a defendants' cage during a court hearing in Minsk, Belarus February 18, 2021.

Belarus jails journalists for two years over protest coverage

Several hundred police officers carried out a large-scale raid in Berlin on Thursday and detained two suspects following violent clashes between rival gangs in the German capital last autumn, according to police and state prosecutors.

-Investigators are currently enforcing arrest warrants and over 20 search warrants for organised trade of drugs and weapons. Two suspects have been arrested- tweeted Berlin state prosecutors on Thursday morning.
They added that the investigation also related to violent "clan clashes" in November 2020 between "members of a family of Arab origin and Russian nationals of Chechen background".
The Berlin police tweeted that "several hundred" officers had been involved in the raid, which also related to "investigations by the tax office". 
While the authorities did not disclose any further details, Berlin media reported that they were targeting the so-called "Remmo clan", a family of Arab origin notorious for ties to organised crime whose members have been linked to major museum heists in Berlin and Dresden in recent years.
In December, police arrested a fourth member of the family over the snatching of priceless jewels from the "Green Vault" museum in Dresden. 
The family was also previously implicated in another stunning museum robbery in the heart of Berlin in which a 100-kilogramme (220-pound) gold coin was stolen.

The Berlin police tweeted that "several hundred" officers had been involved in the raid

Police use water canons during a rally in Berlin, Germany

Two arrested in police raid on Berlin gangs

European aircraft giant Airbus said Thursday it was able to limit its losses last year, even as the airline sector collapsed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Airbus said in a statement that it booked a net loss of 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in 2020.
That was a slight improvement over the previous year's bottom-line loss of 1.4 billion euros, when Airbus was hit with a huge fine of 3.6 billion euros in a corruption scandal.
The company's fierce US rival Boeing had a massive loss of $11.9 billion last year as the Covid-19 crisis played out, combined with getting its key 737 MAX aircraft back in the air.
-The 2020 results demonstrate the resilience of Airbus in the most challenging crisis to hit the aerospace industry- said chief executive Guillaume Faury. 
Group revenues plunged to 49.9 billion euros from 70.5 billion euros a year earlier, "driven by the difficult market environment impacting the commercial aircraft business with 34 percent fewer deliveries year-on-year," Airbus said.
A total of 566 commercial aircraft were delivered, comprising 38 A220s, 446 A320s, 19 A330s, 59 A350s and four A380s, compared with 863 aircraft in 2019.
Airbus said it saw no immediate improvement for the industry's prospects for now.
-Many uncertainties remain for our industry in 2021 as the pandemic continues to impact lives, economies and societies- Faury said.

That was a slight improvement over the previous year's bottom-line loss of 1.4 billion euros

Airbus said it saw no immediate improvement for the industry's prospects for now

Airbus books 1.1-billion-euro loss in 2020 in wake of COVID-19

Georgia's prime minister resigned on Thursday over plans to arrest a top opposition leader, saying it risked escalating a political crisis in the ex-Soviet nation.

Giorgi Gakharia said he was stepping down because of disagreement in the government over enforcing the court order to arrest opposition leader Nika Melia.
-It is inadmissible to enforce a judiciary decision... if that poses a risk to the health and lives of our citizens or creates the possibility of a political escalation in the country.-A court in Georgia on Wednesday ruled to place Melia in pre-trial detention.
Melia, who faces up to nine years behind bars if found guilty of "organising mass violence" during anti-government protests in 2019, has rejected the charges as politically motivated. 
The move to arrest Melia -- chairman of the country's main opposition force, the United National Movement (UNM) -- raised the stakes in a political crisis that has gripped Georgia since parliamentary elections in October.
The opposition denounced the polls as rigged after the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory.
Leaders of nearly all of the country's opposition parties gathered Wednesday at the UNM party headquarters in the capital Tbilisi ahead of the trial, vowing to obstruct police if they moved to arrest Melia.
Georgian television stations on Wednesday night aired footage of riot police mobilising close to the UNM headquarters.
In a statement ahead of the trial, the European Union envoy to Georgia described the circumstances surrounding Melia's prosecution as a "dangerous trajectory for Georgia and for Georgian democracy."
The US embassy in Tbilisi said on Twitter that the crisis "must be resolved peacefully", urging both the government and the opposition to show restraint.

Giorgi Gakharia said he was stepping down because of disagreement in the government over enforcing the court order to arrest opposition leader Nika Melia

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has resigned

Georgia PM resigns over plans to arrest opposition leader

The Boeing 737 MAX made its first commercial flight in Europe on Wednesday since being grounded for 22 months following two deadly crashes.

Belgium's TUI fly said a 737 MAX was used on a flight from Brussels to Alicante and then Malaga in Spain.
The flight took off at 0830 GMT and landed two hours later in Malaga, according to the site flightradar24.
Europe's air safety regulator EASA approved the return of the 737 MAX on January 27, two months after the US regulator cleared the aircraft to resume operations.
The MAX was grounded in March 2019 after 346 people died in two crashes -- the 2018 Lion Air disaster in Indonesia and an Ethiopian Airlines crash the following year.
Investigators said a main cause of both crashes was a faulty flight handling system known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS.
Meant to keep the plane from stalling as it ascends, the automated system instead forced the nose of the plane downward.
Boeing was forced to revamp the system and implement new pilot training protocols.
Commercial flights with the 737 MAX resumed on December 9 with Brazilian airline Gol, then in the US and Canada.
The 737 MAX was a big hit with airlines, becoming Boeing's fastest-selling aircraft until its grounding in 2019. After the Covid-19 crisis decimated demand, airlines cancelled hundreds of the orders.

Belgium's TUI fly said a 737 MAX was used on a flight from Brussels to Alicante and then Malaga in Spain

The green light from Europe's EASA is a key step towards resolving Boeing's safety crisis after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia which were linked to flawed cockpit software

Boeing 737 MAX back in European skies

Russia’s justice minister on Wednesday dismissed as “unlawful” a European Court of Human Rights ruling demanding the release of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, and accused the court of meddling in the Russian judicial system.The Strasbourg-based court (ECHR) said it had ruled on Tuesday to “indicate to the Government of Russia” that it should with immediate effect free Navalny, whose arrest and jailing have sparked anti-Kremlin protests in Russia.
The ECHR, the international court of the Council of Europe, Europe’s main human rights forum, said its decision to demand Navalny’s release was motivated by a possible risk to his life.
It said in a statement that information provided by Russia - a member of the Council of Europe - about the conditions in which Navalny was being held had been contested by the opposition politician.
-This demand is baseless and unlawful, because it does not contain any reference to any fact or any norm of the law, which would have allowed the court to take this decision- Russian Justice Minister Konstantin Chuychenko said.
He was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying the decision was an unprecedented degree of meddling in the work of the Russian court system and that the demand was impossible to fulfil, as it had no basis in Russian law.
Russia passed a law last year giving its national legislation precedence over international treaties and rulings from international bodies in cases when they conflict with the Russian constitution.
Navalny’s allies had earlier published a letter from a member of the court containing its decision which a Navalny ally, Leonid Volkov, said was binding.
Navalny, 44, was detained after returning to Russia from Germany last month and jailed on Feb. 2 for violating the parole terms on what he says was a politically motivated charge.
He had been treated in Germany for a poisoning with what many Western countries say was a nerve agent in Siberia last August, and has blamed the attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin has dismissed Navalny’s accusations and questioned whether he was poisoned.
Several Western countries have called for his release and said they could impose sanctions against Russia over the case.
Navalny’s lawyers could not immediately be reached for comment.

The ECHR said its decision to demand Navalny’s release was motivated by a possible risk to his life

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who is accused of slandering a Russian World War Two veteran, is seen inside a defendant dock during a court hearing in Moscow, Russia, Russia February 16, 2021, in this still image taken from video

Russia dismisses European Court of Human Rights' call to free Navalny

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, has been admitted to a hospital as "a precautionary measure" after feeling unwell, Buckingham Palace announced Wednesday.

-His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh was admitted to the King Edward VII Hospital in London, on Tuesday evening- a palace spokesperson said in a statement.
-The Duke's admission is a precautionary measure, on the advice of His Royal Highness's Doctor, after feeling unwell- it noted.
-The Duke is expected to remain in hospital for a few days of observation and rest- the statement added.
Prince Philip, the 99-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II, had spent 11 days in hospital care because of a bladder infection in 2015.
The queen and the duke are to celebrate their 74th wedding anniversary in November.

Duke of Edinburgh taken to hospital as 'precaution' after feeling ill

The Duke is expected to remain in hospital for a few days of observation and rest

Prince Philip admitted to hospital, Buckingham Palace says

President of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) Bakir Izetbegović received today Ambassador of Hungary to Bosnia and Herzegovina Krisztián Pósa, with whom he discussed the current state of affairs, with a special focus on the coronavirus pandemic and integration processes in which Bosnia and Herzegovina is included.

The interlocutors agreed that the relations between the two countries are good and without open issues.
Ambassador Pósa emphasized Hungary's role in preserving security and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina through the participation of Hungarian troops in Operation EUFOR Althea, but also strong support for Bosnia and Herzegovina in Euro-Atlantic integration.
Izetbegović briefed Ambassador Pósa on current political developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, emphasizing that NATO integration remains a strategic foreign policy goal of B&amp;H, as required by relevant laws, strategies and decisions of state institutions.
He asked the Hungarian ambassador for support on that path and for fulfilling the necessary criteria, such as strengthening the economy and the rule of law.
They also discussed the reforms of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the electoral legislation in accordance with the recommendations of the European Commission, as well as the implementation of the results of the Local Elections in Mostar.
In that context, Izetbegović emphasized the need to introduce European democratic standards in the electoral system, which will eliminate the possibility of discrimination and which will enable Bosnia and Herzegovina a stronger step on the path to membership in the European Union, the SDA announced.

The interlocutors agreed that the relations between the two countries are good and without open issues

Izetbegović briefed Ambassador Pósa on current political developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Madrid relaxes curfew despite high infection rate

Cikotić speaks with Commissioner Johansson about the migrant situation in B&H

Goletić: Continuation of SARS-CoV-2 sequencing not possible without financing

Swiss Ambassador and Director of FIPA on investors' interest in new investments

Representatives and leaders of political parties paid tribute to the victims of genocide in Potočari

Serbia: Over 1M get 1st dose of COVID-19 vaccine

B&H registers 354 new cases of coronavirus in last 24 hours, 13 persons died

Novalić: Four strategic goals of development of Federation of B&H

Belarus jails journalists for two years over protest coverage

Two arrested in police raid on Berlin gangs

Airbus books 1.1-billion-euro loss in 2020 in wake of COVID-19

Georgia PM resigns over plans to arrest opposition leader

Boeing 737 MAX back in European skies

Russia dismisses European Court of Human Rights' call to free Navalny

Prince Philip admitted to hospital, Buckingham Palace says

Izetbegović receives Pósa: Hungary supports B&H's Euro-Atlantic integration

News

Madrid relaxes curfew despite high infection rate

Cikotić speaks with Commissioner Johansson about the migrant situation in B&H

Goletić: Continuation of SARS-CoV-2 sequencing not possible without financing

Swiss Ambassador and Director of FIPA on investors' interest in new investments

Representatives and leaders of political parties paid tribute to the victims of genocide in Potočari

Serbia: Over 1M get 1st dose of COVID-19 vaccine

B&H registers 354 new cases of coronavirus in last 24 hours, 13 persons died

Novalić: Four strategic goals of development of Federation of B&H

Belarus jails journalists for two years over protest coverage

Two arrested in police raid on Berlin gangs

Airbus books 1.1-billion-euro loss in 2020 in wake of COVID-19

Georgia PM resigns over plans to arrest opposition leader

Boeing 737 MAX back in European skies

Russia dismisses European Court of Human Rights' call to free Navalny

Prince Philip admitted to hospital, Buckingham Palace says

Izetbegović receives Pósa: Hungary supports B&H's Euro-Atlantic integration