On Tuesday 20 February, the President of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Borjana Krišto, met the European Affairs ministers of the Member States in the margins of the General Affairs Council. Discussions with these ministers, as well as with the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, focused in particular on the progress made by Sarajevo in obtaining the opening of accession negotiations with the EU.
The Commission’s report on the work carried out by the Western Balkan country to open accession negotiations will be presented in March.
“There is still a lot to be done”, said a source close to the matter before the meeting between Ms Krišto and the ministers from the Member States.
“We are preparing our report for the Member States ahead of the March European Council meeting on Bosnia-Herzegovina’s journey within the EU. We are working to ensure that the outstanding issues are resolved and that the EU reforms continue”, commented Mr Várhelyi.
The report will take stock of the reforms carried out by Sarajevo in terms of the rule of law, the judicial system, and constitutional and electoral reform. In addition, particular attention will be paid to responses to the Commission’s concerns about measures deemed “secessionist” within Republika Srpska (see EUROPE 13246/20, 13212/28).
In January, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, urged the Bosnian authorities to go “as far as possible” with the reforms between now and the March European Council (see EUROPE 13334/18).
The question of the future growth plan for the Western Balkans (see EUROPE 13349/22) - with a budget of €6 billion, including €2 billion in grants and the rest in the form of loans - was also raised. Its allocation to the countries of the region could also be conditional on the successful implementation of reforms. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)