The heads of state and government of the EU, meeting this Thursday at a summit in Brussels, formally approved the granting of candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina, an EU official said, almost seven years after the filing of his candidacy.
The decision was expected, as EU European affairs ministers had already approved granting the status on Tuesday, according to the Liberation newspaper. The European Commission had also recommended in October to the Member States to grant this status to this poor and unstable country, faced with secessionist threats.
This decision marks the beginning of a long accession process for this Balkan country of 3.5 million inhabitants, marked by unemployment and inflation at more than 17%. Bosnia applied for membership in February 2016.
“A strong signal to the population”
The President of the European Council Charles Michel welcomed “a strong signal sent to the population, but also a clear expectation from the new authorities (european) on the implementation of reforms (in bosnia)”. “The future of the Western Balkans is in the EU,” he added in a tweet.
Bosnia will need to carry out major reforms to strengthen the rule of law, the fight against corruption and organized crime, migration management and fundamental rights, member states said.
The news comes more than a week after a summit in Tirana during which the European Union reconfirmed its commitment to the enlargement process in favor of the Western Balkans, which is experiencing a new dynamic in the context of the war in Ukraine.
Bosnia is divided between a Serbian entity, the Republika Srpska, and a Croat-Muslim federation, linked by a weak central power that is often paralyzed. This complex political system is inherited from the Dayton Peace Accords that ended the inter-communal war in which 100,000 people were killed between 1992 and 1995.
Seven countries are already officially candidates for EU membership: Turkey (since 1999, process now frozen), North Macedonia (2005), Montenegro (2010), Serbia (2012), Albania (2014), Ukraine and Moldova (2022).
Accession negotiations have been opened with Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia. Kosovo, for its part, officially submitted its request on Thursday to obtain this candidate status.