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EU foreign policy chief to visit Bosnia

11 March 2014, 10:59 CET
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(BRUSSELS) - EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will visit Bosnia on Wednesday to urge the country's leadership to respond to corruption and unemployment concerns which sparked violent riots last month.

Ashton said Tuesday that the trip to Sarajevo will give her a chance to meet political leaders and civil society to understand how they plan to respond to popular concerns, "particularly the economic and social ones."

"It is important that the leadership of Bosnia and Herzegovina responds to these concerns, and the European Union will add its support to efforts that bring real benefits to the people," Ashton said in a statement.

The riots at the beginning of February were triggered by anger over high levels of corruption in the ethnically divided Balkan state and the political class's failure to reverse a downward economic spiral which has left nearly one in two Bosnians unemployed.

More than 150 people were hurt when protestors took to the streets in over 20 Bosnian towns and stormed government buildings in the biggest unrest to hit the country of 2.8 million people since the 1992-1995 civil war.

Ashton will hold a press conference Wednesday afternoon in Sarajevo at the conclusion of her visit.


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