Status of the European Union (EU) candidate country is not a gift but something that has to be earned, said European Parliament (EP) Rapporteur for Bosnia and Herzegovina Cristian Dan Preda, adding that he hopes Bosnia would achieve this status next year.

Speaking for the European Western Balkans news portal, Preda said the pace of reforms in the country “seriously” slowed down over the past year and a half but that the country has a chance to change things for the better in the period after the October 7 general election.

“That is why it is crucial that authorities are formed without delay and start working on necessary reforms,” said Preda.

Bosnia's institutions work significantly slower than those in the neighbouring countries, due to its complex institutional set-up, according to the EU parliamentarian, and more streamlined decision-making and functional institutional set-up would certainly help.

However, as he said, the country's integration depends solely on local politicians.

“I think the political elites in the country must realise that they need to take full responsibility for the EU integration process. Nobody can do the necessary reforms in the place of the authorities and political parties must learn to work on building consensus when it comes to reforms required by the EU accession,” he said.

The citizens must hold the politicians accountable if this does not happen, stressed Preda. “The people of Bosnia and Herzegovina need to learn to use this exceptional power they have, the vote,” he added.