Bosnia should start EU membership talks

Politico carries an article about Bosnia which should start EU accession talks, Caliber.Az reprints the article.

Bosnia should start EU accession talks, the European Commission is set to announce on March 12, paving the way for the country to ultimately become a member of the bloc. 

The EU granted Bosnia candidate status in December 2022. The European Commission will now give a positive recommendation to start formal accession negotiations, two EU officials and one EU diplomat told POLITICO. 

Ukraine and Moldova are also set to move a step further in the enlargement process.

The European Commission will on Tuesday propose the so-called negotiating frameworks, which set the guidelines and basic principles for their accession talks. It is then up to EU countries to discuss those texts. EU diplomats and officials warn an agreement between the 27 European capitals — which is needed for the formal start of the negotiations — is unlikely to happen before the June European elections. 

For some EU countries, including Austria, it was vital that progress on Ukraine and Moldova  should go hand-in-hand with progress on the future accession of Bosnia. 

The next step is now for EU leaders to discuss the recommendation on Bosnia at their meeting in Brussels next week. 

In the lead-up to the announcement, the foreign ministers of Austria, Italy and Germany all travelled to Sarajevo last week in support of opening accession negotiations.

In a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock last week, her Bosnian counterpart Elmedin Konaković said he hoped there would not be “further frustration,” adding that it was “crucial” to keep in mind “what happens if Bosnia-Herzegovina does not continue on its European path.”

The European Commission was also set to present a document on how to prepare the bloc internally for the future enlargement, especially on how to absorb a war-devastated country of more than 40 million people such as Ukraine. But this document, which was originally planned for February 27, is now postponed until March 20, according to the latest agenda of the European Commission, seen by POLITICO.