"It's certain that without stronger engagement by European institutions, those conflicts won't be solved. BiH is a challenge which the EU must help to solve," the Croatian MEP says in Thursday's issue of the Sarajevo Dnevni Avaz daily.
Picula says he has been advocating that the EU "prove that it has the capacity to resolve complex foreign policy challenges in its neighbourhood."
He strongly criticises the moves of Bosnian Serbs and their leader Milorad Dodik, saying their decision to block BiH institutions additionally deepens the crisis in the country.
"Anyone who supports Milorad Dodik assumes that Brussels and Washington don't understand their game, i.e. that they don't understand how they act via Dodik as a mediator. That is also obvious in the latest boycott of BiH institutions. That is also all in the background making it impossible to utilise the Dayton agreement to unblock conflicts and actively seek a way out of the political crisis within the frame of the internationally recognised BiH."
Picula expects the BiH authorities to start meeting the European integration requirements and create a new reform agenda that would accelerate that journey.
He says the European Parliament has supported opening accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia during a summit of the Council of the EU and the Western Balkans due in Zagreb in May. This, he adds, should encourage other countries, notably BiH, to take the same road.