ABOUT US
About the Ambassador
Ambassador Johann Sattler is the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina and is the European Union Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina as of 1 September 2019.
He returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2019, having been posted to Sarajevo and Tirana as part of European Community Monitoring Mission back in 1997. More recently, he was the Austrian Ambassador to Albania.
Follow @josattler on Twitter and @josattlerbih on Instagram.
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Ambassador of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Johann Sattler.
Copyright: EU in BiH
Message from the Ambassador
Team Europe is here to stay
Dear visitors,
I have spent much of my career working on the Western Balkans and my engagement with Bosnia and Herzegovina goes back many decades, including a period working in Sarajevo in the late 1990s in the European Community Monitoring Mission. Since starting my term as the Head of the EU Delegation/EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina in September 2019, my team and I have been fully committed to bringing this country closer to the EU.
Membership of the EU is Bosnia and Herzegovina’s most important shared strategic objective, and one that is supported by a strong majority of the country’s citizens. It is the path to greater stability and prosperity, stronger protection of human rights, a more effective fight against corruption, functional public institutions, better healthcare and education.
The granting of candidate status in December 2022 was an important sign that the EU supports BiH’s European aspirations and believes that the country’s place is in the EU. But it was also a message to political leaders to turn a new page and implement the necessary reforms that will bring tangible benefits to citizens.
In the years I have been EU Ambassador to BiH, we have faced many challenges together, in particular the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. We stand in full solidarity with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s people as the country’s largest partner, investor and donor. Just to give one example, the EU and its member states provided half of the vaccines used by Bosnia and Herzegovina during the pandemic, as well as significant financial support. Moreover, in order to aide some of the country’s most vulnerable citizens with rising prices, the Energy Support Package allocated 50 million euros to support them, as well as 20 million euros for energy transition.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country full of energy and talent. Wherever you go in this country, you will find cultural heritage and natural beauty, achievements in arts and sports, innovation and tradition. We believe in this country. And you have my full commitment to continue working to ensure it achieves its full potential.
Johann Sattler, Ambassador of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina