BRUSSELS: The European Union leaders on Thursday approved granting candidate status to Bosnia, putting the volatile Balkan country at the start of a long road to EU membership.
Russia’s war against Ukraine has increased the EU’s willingness to consider adding more members from eastern European states after years of standstill. Bosnia has now become the third country in the past six months to be granted candidate status after conflict-ravaged Ukraine and Moldova.
Candidate status comes amid EU’s concerns vis-à-vis Russia, China
The EU is concerned that global powers like Russia or China might expand their influence into the Balkans if states hopeful of joining the bloc are not provided attention.
In a tweet, Charles Michel, President of the European Council, described the move as “a strong signal to the people, but also a clear expectation for the new authorities to deliver on reforms.” “The future of the Western Balkans is in the EU,” he said. The development comes despite long-standing concerns over Bosnia’s political situation.
Bosnia’s dysfunctional politico-administrative system
Bosnia is a country of three million population suffering from ethnic divisions since its devastating war three decades ago. It remains seperated between a Muslim-Croat federation and a Serb entity connected via a weak central government.
The country has a dysfunctional administrative structure created by the 1995 Dayton Agreement that successfully ended the conflict in the 1990s, but was unable to provide a framework for the country’s political development.
The European Commission has underlined 14 priorities for reforms that it insists Bosnia must adapt before it can move on to the next phase of opening formal accession negotiations. APP
