On Tuesday 10 December, the EU Council urged the Bosnian executive and legislative bodies at all levels of government to respond to the 14 priorities for action identified in the Commission's opinion in the fields of democracy, the rule of law, fundamental rights and public administration reform (see EUROPE 12266/3).
In its conclusions, the EU Council explains that this western Balkan country, which applied for EU membership in September 2016 (see EUROPE 11490/1), "must make sustained efforts, in particular with regard to the implementation" of these priorities which must be met.
Thus, for the ministers, Bosnia and Herzegovina "is generally at an early stage regarding its level of preparedness to take on the obligations of EU membership". It needs to "significantly step up the process to align with the EU acquis and implement and enforce related legislation", they warn.
In particular, the EU Council notes that the country does not sufficiently fulfil the Copenhagen political criteria and must "dedicate considerable efforts to strengthening its institutions in order to guarantee democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities". Moreover, it is still only at an early stage of establishing a functioning market economy and restoring competitiveness in the common market and needs to improve the results achieved in the implementation of its obligations under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement.
The opening of accession negotiations will be examined by the European Council "at a time when the Commission considers that Bosnia and Herzegovina has reached the necessary level of compliance with the accession criteria and has in particular respected the priorities set out in the Commission’s Opinion", the conclusions state. The EU Council therefore invites the Commission to focus its annual reports on Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2020 on the implementation of the priorities.
See conclusions: http://bit.ly/2RGbISL (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)