The deadline for temporary occupants to apply for the return of their pre-war property will be even sooner – October 31. Under the new amendments to the Law on Return of Abandoned Properties, anyone who is living in contested space and who has not applied for the return of their pre-war property by that date may be evicted, without alternative accommodation. I am sure many people have complied with this law, but obviously anyone who has not done so faces a very serious situation. Suzana Pejcic will issue a press release on this.
Tomorrow and the next day we will have a very important meeting here in this room. The four countries of the Sava River Basin – Croatia, Slovenia, Yugoslavia and Bosnia and Herzegovina – are coming to conclude the final text of the International Framework Agreement on the Sava Basin. This is a critical step. We need the final text now, so we can move on with signatures and ratification.
This is a very good treaty. It establishes the goals and framework for a Sava River Commission, which will establish navigation and sustainable water management, and prevent or limit floods and hazardous pollution damage. Brcko is a candidate to be the seat of this Commission, and Brcko is ready to support it in many ways. This Framework Treaty is, of course, only the start of the rehabilitation and development of this huge natural resource, the Sava River. We will need practical measures to carry out the objectives of this treaty. For those, we will need funds. We will even need additional international agreements. But the four countries have worked together extremely well over the past year. I am confident they can give us a big push forward this week.