Yesterday, the President of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, sent a letter to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, in which he called for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to be unconditionally granted the status of a candidate country for membership in the European Union (EU).
Pahor believes that granting BiH EU candidate status without any conditions would strengthen pro-European forces in BiH and speed up the pace of adjustment to European norms, and that “in the light of the war in Ukraine, tangible steps are needed to expand the EU to the Western Balkans as soon as possible,”the Slovenian president’s office announced yesterday.
”In this country, the most obvious negative consequences are the too slow process of enlargement of the EU and changes in the European perspective. In this situation, nationalism and tendencies to change borders are growing, and all this leads to even greater instability, which threatens the security not only of BiH and its immediate neighborhood but also of the EU,” said Pahor, as reported by the Slovenian media.
Pahor also voiced support for efforts to grant Ukraine and Moldova EU candidate status, called for approval of the start of accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania, and called for visa liberalization for Kosovo.