The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, confirmed on Tuesday that the Commission will recommend the start of accession negotiations for Bosnia and Herzegovina with the European Union.
Speaking at the European Parliament, von der Leyen emphasized that the report compiled by the European Commission demonstrates the progress Bosnia and Herzegovina has made, hence it has recommended to the Council to decide on the start of accession negotiations with the Balkan country.
“Since we granted candidate status, Bosnia and Herzegovina has taken remarkable steps towards us. More progress has been made in just over a year than in a decade,” von der Leyen said, listing several achievements, including the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina now has a 100 per cent alignment level with the EU’s foreign and security policy.
Among other achievements, according to her, are the law on the prevention of conflict of interest, the inclusion of judgments from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the state register of crimes, and several other results.
“This is why today we decide to recommend to the Council to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The message from Bosnia and Herzegovina is clear. Therefore, our message must be clear as well. The future of Bosnia and Herzegovina lies in the European Union,” she said.
After the European Commission’s recommendation, the decision to start negotiations must be made by the leaders of the 27 EU member states.
This will be on the agenda at a summit to be held on March 21 and 22 in Brussels.
There are currently 10 countries in the enlargement process.
Of these, nine have candidate status, and only Kosovo is a country that does not have such a status, although it has applied for membership in the bloc.
Turkey, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, North Macedonia, Ukraine, and Moldova have also decided to start accession negotiations.
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia also have candidate status, but so far, there is no decision to open negotiations.
