The Council of the European Union could decide whether to grant the candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina, during its autumn session but it is unrealistic to expect that the debate will be organized in June, said European Parliament's Rapporteur for Bosnia, Cristian Dan Preda n an interview with Fena news agency.

The speed at which Bosnia will get the candidate status depends on the rate at which the necessary reforms will be implemented, and there is no more time to waste,” said Dan Preda.

The Council will discuss the European Commission's Opinion on Bosnia as part of the 2019 Extension Package for the Western Balkan countries, and Turkey presented by European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn.

This year's report clearly identifies areas where reforms such as the rule of law, fundamental rights, the strengthening of democratic institutions, including the public administration reform, as well as the strengthening of economic development and competitiveness, and key priorities in the accession process need to be implemented.

Explaining the importance of the published Opinion of the European Commission, he emphasized that the Commission considered Bosnia's application for EU membership in terms of criteria, and based its views on the answers given to the Questionnaire, expert reports and observation missions.

“It is a very positive thing that Bosnia received such an overview because in this way they created a clear image of which areas need to be addressed and which areas are priorities,” the European Parliament's rapporteur explained.

He believes that both Bosnian citizens and authorities are aware of the situation in the judiciary, economic system, human rights, education, but there is also the awareness of the level of corruption that is widespread and affects the everyday lives of citizens.
According to him, the State authorities would have to propose some type of action plan to resolve the identified priorities in the Commission's opinion.