On Tuesday 23 January in Sarajevo, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, urged the Bosnian authorities to go “as far as possible”, between now and the March European Council, in implementing the reforms required by the European Union, which are a condition for the official opening of negotiations for Bosnia-Herzegovina’s accession to the EU (see EUROPE 13314/1).
Bosnia-Herzegovina is demonstrating that “it achieves results when it is united” and that it is on track to begin EU accession negotiations, said Ms von der Leyen, praising its past reforms in terms of the “independence of the judiciary” and its “total alignment with EU foreign policy”. “The more you deliver, the more convincing you are, the more you help me in preparing the report” from the European Commission to the European Council, she added, while admitting that some of the 14 priority initiatives identified did not necessarily have to be finalised.
For Ms von der Leyen, “the common objective” is clear: a “unified, united and sovereign” Bosnia-Herzegovina must join the EU. As such, it has asked the country’s authorities not to let anything or anyone cause them to deviate from this trajectory, with particular reference to the separatist temptations of the Serbian entity's leaders (see EUROPE 13324/14).
Accompanying Ms von der Leyen, the Croatian Prime Minister, Andrej Plenković, invited the country's authorities to take advantage of this “narrow window”, open until the end of March, to fulfil the conditions set. After that, it could be too late, as an election period is about to begin in the EU.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose country is cautious about opening EU accession negotiations with Bosnia-Herzegovina, pointed out that the enlargement process is based on the merits of each candidate country. “There is still a lot of work to be done before Bosnia Herzegovina achieves the necessary degree of compliance with membership criteria” and “there are no shortcuts”, he warned, noting however the political “will” in Sarajevo to achieve this. He did not deny the difficulty of governing a country durably affected by history.
The three participants stressed that Bosnia-Herzegovina was not alone in this venture and that the EU and its Member States were ready to provide assistance.
Borjana Krišto, Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia-Herzegovina, thanked the three leaders for their encouragement. Among the reforms carried out by her country, she cited the establishment of the rule of law, reform of the judicial system, respect for human rights and the fight against corruption. Out of thirteen legislative proposals, six have been adopted by Parliament and we are currently working on issues such as “border control, the fight against conflicts of interest and the Judicial Council”, she added.
The Bosnian leader said that, despite the difficulties, she was confident of a positive outcome for her country at the March European Council.
Recovery Plan. Ms von der Leyen referred to the growth plan for the countries of the Western Balkans unveiled by the Commission in autumn 2023 (see EUROPE 13272/16). This is a “huge opportunity” to stimulate economic growth in Bosnia-Herzegovina through its faster integration into the EU single market in seven key areas of activity, she stressed, noting in passing that no Western Balkan country will be able to block the others during implementation. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)