BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission (EC) on Wednesday recommended granting Bosnia and Herzegovina candidate status for membership of the European Union, provided it takes various measures to strengthen democracy and Right wing state.
In its annual report on EU enlargement, the EU executive states that Bosnia needs to strengthen its democracy, the functioning of its public institutions, the rule of law, the fight against corruption and organized crime, freedom of the press and its immigration policy.
“The Western Balkans are part of our family”, said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, adding that powers hostile to the EU see the region as “a geopolitical chessboard” on which they are trying to “dig a gap between (these countries) and the rest of Europe”.
Five other Western Balkan countries – Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia – and Turkey, all of which have candidate status, also need to make further progress on key reforms to hope to join the EU, added the Commission.
She also urged Serbia, which has still not imposed sanctions on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, to “improve as a matter of priority” its alignment with the Union’s foreign policy.
Bosnian Foreign Minister Bisera Turkovic said on Twitter that the decision to grant Bosnia candidate status was welcome and would encourage reforms and the fulfillment of necessary conditions before the start of negotiations.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has underlined the importance of EU enlargement and its geopolitical significance, said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell.
“This is a long-term investment in the peace, prosperity and stability of our continent,” he said.
(Report Marine Strauss, Charlotte Van Campenhout, John Chalmers, Daria Sito-Sucic, Ivana Sekularac in Belgrade; French version Alizée Degorce)