Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to our assessment, has reached the necessary level of compliance with the criteria for membership, and that is why we have proposed the start of accession negotiations, European Commission Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said today in a conversation with journalists.
He explained that progress has been recorded in the fundamental criteria for the start of accession negotiations, namely the rule of law, the democratic functioning of institutions and the fight against money laundering, corruption and organized crime. He also added that the focus of the European Commission’s report was on the latest developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he says are very encouraging.
“The government has been working at all levels. The political coalition that is now at the head of the country is producing results. The development of events is very encouraging and I hope that they will continue with such work. The Chairperson of the Council of Ministers Borjana Krišto said that they have not stopped working. On the contrary, they continue I hope that next week the European Council will decide to open accession negotiations, as we proposed,” Varhelyi pointed out.
He believes that the member states of the European Union should give the green light for the start of negotiations, but that there are still political processes that need to be completed.
Varhelji mentioned the Election Law as one of the priorities that BiH still has to fulfill, a condition that the European Council very clearly set in December 2022. He expressed hope that changes to electoral integrity will be launched before local elections, saying that this is a very clear request of the European Union.
He also highlighted the Law on Courts as an important unimplemented reform that needs to be achieved, as well as all other reforms that were made clear as early as December 2022.
Speaking about the potential date for the start of negotiations, Várhelyi emphasized that they do not work with deadlines, but with results.
“It is very clear that, if the proposal to start negotiations is adopted by the European Council, we will immediately start preparing the negotiating framework, after which we will present it to the Council. It is very difficult to prejudge how much time the European Council needs to reach a consensus. This requires unanimous opinion of the member states. But we told them that we are ready to inform them about the development of events, if necessary, before adopting the negotiating framework,” he underlined.
In response to a journalist’s question about Milorad Dodik, who was designated as a threat by American intelligence services, Várhelyi said that the European Commission is not an intelligence agency that could make such assessments.
“What we see is that the country is changing. We have a functional political structure in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The representatives of the three constituent nations managed to form coalitions at all levels in the country. We do not like the rhetoric used by the President of the Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik. It certainly causes concern, but not forget that the representatives of the RS are in the institutions. They are part of decision-making. They are also part of the implementation of all the reforms thanks to which the country can now move forward, and this includes the president of Republika Srpska,” he explained.
He adds that the increasing support of the citizens of both entities for the European path of Bosnia and Herzegovina is visible.
“So, what we think is that it is the European path that can create coherence in the country, and the European path is supported by the citizens,” concluded Oliver Varhelji, Commissioner of the European Commission for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Fena news agency reports.
