According to the EU Commission, the Balkan state of Bosnia and Herzegovina meets the requirements for accession negotiations. They could be decided shortly. The state submitted an application for membership in 2016.
According to the EU Commission, Bosnia and Herzegovina is ready to start negotiations on accession to the European Union. The country had already been accepted by the EU into the group of candidate countries for accession in 2022.
“Since we granted the country candidate status, it has made impressive steps towards us,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a speech in the European Parliament. “More progress has been made in just over a year than in over a decade.”
Alignment with the EU in times of “geopolitical upheaval”
Of course, further progress is necessary in order to be accepted into our Union, continued von der Leyen. “But the country shows that it can meet the accession criteria and supports the aspirations of its citizens to become part of our family.”
Von der Leyen praised, among other things, progress in combating money laundering and terrorist financing as well as in managing migration. There are also further steps towards reconciliation between the various ethnic groups. And the country has fully aligned itself with the EU’s foreign and security policy, which is particularly important in “times of geopolitical upheaval.”
Prospect of joining the EU since 2003
An important reason for including Bosnia and Herzegovina in the group of candidate countries was the concern that the Balkan country with around 3.2 million inhabitants could otherwise orientate itself towards Russia or China. The state that emerged from the collapsed Yugoslavia has been waiting for EU membership for many years.
States such as Austria in particular had recently pushed for Bosnia and Herzegovina to be given the prospect of progress in the accession process. The EU had already promised the country the prospect of joining in 2003. It officially submitted an application for membership in 2016.
Last December, EU leaders agreed to begin negotiations on admission as soon as further reforms were completed. They are now expected to decide at their spring summit on March 21st and 22nd whether to accept the EU Commission’s recommendation.
No guarantee on ultimately EU accession
If the vote is yes, Bosnia and Herzegovina would be as far along in the EU accession process as Ukraine and Moldova. The start of accession negotiations with these two states has already been decided.
How long it will take from the start of accession talks to EU accession is completely unclear. Turkey, for example, became an EU candidate in 1999 – but is still not a member today. Theoretically, a candidate for membership can never become a member.