The European Union plans to discuss the issue of opening accession negotiations with Northern Macedonia and Albania, on Tuesday, in Luxembourg, after several months of delays and objections by France and Germany, N1 learned on Sunday.

The news comes just days after EU leaders including current European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, European Council President Donald Tusk and future European Commission President Ursulu von der Leyen urged EU leaders to make a decision on the matter. If the decision is confirmed, the start date of the talks could be known at the end of the week when the European Council plan to meet at the level of heads of states and governments of the European Union in Brussels.

Bosnia, however, will not be on the agenda of the Tuesday meeting or the one at the end of the week. N1's sources in the European Commission said that there are no concrete developments regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“We cannot speculate on when new steps will be taken regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina, at this moment. What is known is that the Foreign Affairs Council's conclusions on the Althea mission are expected on Monday,” the European Commission source told N1.

The issue of the candidate status award to Bosnia thus remains uncertain. The EU General Affairs Council reached a brief conclusion regarding the country, in June saying:

“The Council takes note of the European Commission's Opinion on Bosnia and Herzegovina's application for EU membership. The Council will continue to study the document in detail and will return to it later this year. The Council encourages Bosnia and Herzegovina to continue to form the government without further delay, with the aim of continuing necessary reforms. Party policies and a lack of desire for compromise should not block the legitimate aspirations of Bosnia's citizens to move towards the EU.”

Bosnian authorities have repeatedly asked Brussels for the candidate status during the first half of this year, but that has not happened. The General Affairs Council, which decides on this matter, will hold two more summits by the end of the year, and the European Council will hold one more in December, leaving Bosnia and Herzegovina with limited opportunity for gaining candidate status.