Sarajevo: Miss European Region of the Year

The EU crowned Sarajevo the 2006 European Region of the Year, effective January 1. It's supposed to introduce countries aspiring to EU membership into the Brussels club.

That's funny (in a sick way) because Miss European Region couldn't get a visa to visit most of Europe. Lines of hopeful Bosnians seeking visas stretch around Sarajevo’s various embassies every day. "How can they know about the EU if they can’t travel to its member states?" wondered Emir Hadzikadunic, spokesman for the Directorate of European Integration, which is responsible for channeling EU funds into projects.

It also creates absurb situations for officials, who have trouble traveling to Brussels for EU meetings. For one recent round, the European Commission’s office in Sarajevo had to send a messenger three hours away to Banja Luka to pick up Bosnian officials’ passports. The Dutch embassy had to issue the visas because Brussels does not have an embassy in Bosnia. The messenger then took the visas back to Banja Luka. That's the story a EC spokesman told me, but I've heard other, even more idiotic tales.

So, as pretty as she is, she'll be stuck at home with the rest of the Bosnians until EU member states lift their visa blocks. Maybe Belgium should go first, since it is the seat of the EU.