The Federal Minister for the European Union (EU) and Constitution at the Federal Chancellery of Austria, Karoline Edtstadler, pointed out that Austria expects the EU to start negotiating with Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) about its membership in the EU already this year.
She pointed this out after information appeared that BiH will indeed start negotiations this year. Some domestic and foreign officials were already advocating that these negotiations begin this year. It is speculated that the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will confirm the start of negotiations during her visit to BiH, which is scheduled for next month.
At the end of last year, BiH received the status of a candidate for EU membership. This happened despite the fact that it did not meet all 14 EU priorities. The decision to grant candidate status is largely conditioned by geopolitical circumstances, primarily Russian aggression against Ukraine. Previously, Ukraine and Moldova received the candidate status for membership. Politicians in BiH claim that since obtaining this status, additional steps have been taken on the way to EU membership.
Minister Edtstadler believes that by opening negotiations with BiH, the EU will show that it is a leader in the Western Balkans. In addition, she expects the EU to:
At the beginning of next year, there will be an accession conference for North Macedonia and Albania;
For Serbia and Montenegro, take concrete steps before the elections for the European Parliament, which will be held in June next year;
Five EU countries will recognize Kosovo and this country will receive the status of a candidate for membership before the elections for the European Parliament.
She emphasized that Austria expects the EU to determine the exact date of accession to the EU for each of the six countries of the Western Balkans, Klix.ba reports.
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