The European Union (EU) Commission has announced that it has decided to recommend the start of accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the candidate countries.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated at the General Assembly of the European Parliament (EP) that the Commission has decided to recommend the initiation of accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Stating that EU policy towards the Western Balkans has recently changed, von der Leyen said:
“We realized that it is not enough to wait for the Western Balkans to approach us. It is not enough to say that the door is open. We must also take responsibility and ensure that the path to the EU is possible. We must support it in every possible way.”
Speaking about the progress achieved by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Von der Leyen emphasized that Bosnia and Herzegovina has taken impressive steps since receiving candidate status.
She emphasized that Bosnia and Herzegovina is fully aligned with the EU’s foreign policy, but has also implemented internal reforms in important areas.
Reminding that even greater progress is needed for EU membership, he said:
“However, the country shows that it can meet the criteria for membership and its citizens want to be part of our family. For this reason, we decided to recommend the EU Council to start accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
Bosnia and Herzegovina applied for membership on February 15, 2016, and received the status of a candidate country on December 15, 2022.
EU leaders said in December that they would open accession negotiations with BiH “when the necessary degree of compliance with the criteria for membership is met.”
They then invited the European Commission to submit a report to the European Council on BiH’s progress no later than this month.
The Commission is expected to present a written report on BiH, while an oral assessment is expected for Ukraine and Moldova by the end of the month.
“BiH will join Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Ukraine and Moldova, which are in various stages of their path to EU membership,” says “Euraktiv”.
Euraktiv reminds that Kosovo submitted its application for membership in December 2022, but “very little” progress has been made so far.
Given that the start of formal negotiations still requires a unanimous decision by EU members, European leaders are expected to discuss the recommendation for BiH during the regular summit in Brussels next week.
A more comprehensive annual report for all candidate countries is expected at the end of October this year, AA writes.
