The European Council’s decision to grant the status of candidate country to Bosnia and Herzegovina is a significant one-off incentive, Romeo Franz and Paulo Rangel pointed out. 

Following yesterday’s meeting of the European Council Romeo Franz (Greens/EFA, Germany), Chair of the European Parliament Delegation for relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, and Paulo Rangel (EPP, Portugal), Standing Rapporteur for Bosnia and Herzegovina, praised the move and urged the country’s authorities to act urgently on implementing the reforms necessary for further EU accession.

“We welcome the decision of the European Council to grant the status of candidate country to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the granting of candidate country status to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova in June 2022 have triggered calls to accelerate the EU integration process of the Western Balkans. In the current geopolitical context yesterday’s decision should be seen as a ‘renewal of vows’ by the European Union and an important message to the country and to third actors that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s future is unequivocally within the EU,” they said.

They noted that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s political actors achieved insufficient progress in this regard but pointed out that this decision is a clear sign of the EU’s commitment to BiH citizens.

“It is also a significant one-off incentive that should be swiftly acted on by Bosnia and Herzegovina’s authorities. Tangible delivery on the 14 key priorities and the eight requirements identified in the Commission’s recommendation of October 2022 to the benefit of all citizens is urgently needed. The only way forward for Bosnia and Herzegovina is that its politicians move beyond narrow political party interests and divisive politics and genuinely work towards consensus-driven, inclusive EU integration reforms,” MEP’s added.

They also recommended that as soon as the new Bosnia and Herzegovina Delegation to the Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee (SAPC) is constituted, BiH officials should proactively reach out with a view to holding the 3rd EU-Bosnia and Herzegovina SAPC meeting in Sarajevo, thus making concrete progress on key priority number three.