European Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn will arrive in Sarajevo on Thursday for an official visit, the European Commission confirmed on Wednesday. This will be the first visit of a European commissioner to Bosnia since the beginning of the year.

“Commissioner Hahn will discuss the state of play of the socio-economic reforms that the country committed to undertake to move forward on its EU path,” said the Commission.

The EU's senior official in charge of the neighbourhood policy and enlargement negotiations is arriving after the country handed over final answers to the EC's Questionnaire, as a part of the regular procedure of obtaining the status of the EU candidate.

“The Commission is currently working on the Opinion on the merits of the country’s application for EU membership to present to the EU Member States, and advancing on the socio-economic agenda is crucial in particular as this brings direct benefits to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” the Commission said in the visit announcement.

Hahn is set to meet the representatives of civil society organisations working on environmental issues and will then proceed with the meetings with Bosnia Presidency members, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers and state ministers in charge of foreign trade and finance.

Also, the EU official will hold meetings with representatives of political parties.