“I am happy to say that we have adopted the recommendation that Bosnia and Herzegovina be granted the status of a candidate country for membership in the European Union,” said yesterday at the press conference after the sessions of the EU General Affairs Council, the Czech Minister for European Affairs Mikulas Bek.
“This is a historic moment for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Now we have to work on the rule of law in that country and that is the cornerstone,” he stressed.
Minister Bek added that the most important thing now is to improve the independence of the judiciary and encourage the culture of the rule of law.
“This must be worked on especially because of the new geopolitical context,” he said.
On Thursday, Bosnia and Herzegovina will definitely receive candidate status for membership in the European Union, according to the leaked draft of the document.
The draft document states that the Council of the European Union proposes to the European Council to grant Bosnia and Herzegovina the status of a candidate country for EU membership.
“Following the conclusions of the European Council of June 23 and 24, 2022, and in the light of the Commission’s subsequent recommendation of October 12, 2022, the Council recommends that the status of a candidate country be granted to Bosnia and Herzegovina, with confirmation by the European Council, with the understanding that steps listed in the Commission’s recommendation to be taken, in order to strengthen the rule of law, the fight against corruption and organized crime, migration management and fundamental rights,” the document states, adding that the Council is looking forward to confirmation by the European Council in December.
The EU Council also emphasizes the urgency for the country to move forward on its path to the EU, especially through the fulfillment of all 14 key priorities for the opening of negotiations on EU accession, and they call on all political leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina to quickly implement the obligations stated in the agreement reached on 12 June 2022 and urgently finalize the constitutional and electoral reform in accordance with key priorities.
They also welcomed the holding of the elections, which they stated were competitive and well organized but characterized by distrust in public institutions, and the EU’s support for the perspective of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a single, united and sovereign state was reiterated.
The document was first published by Istraga.ba and Politički.ba, Klix.ba reports.
