Bosnia avoids EU sanctions by submitting Reform Agenda just before deadline

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos had previously warned that BiH could lose at least 10% of its allocated funds if authorities failed to deliver the Reform Agenda in time. She also noted that further delays could result in funds being redirected to other countries in the Western Balkans.

In a surprise move last Friday, the Council of Ministers of BiH approved a draft version of the Reform Agenda during a telephone session and immediately notified Brussels.

“The European Commission welcomes the political agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina to adopt the Reform Agenda,” the EU Commission’s press office told N1.

The Commission is now waiting for the final version to be formally submitted so that its experts can analyse the content and determine whether BiH qualifies for the first disbursement of pre-financing funds. Authorities in Sarajevo have up to 45 days to finalise and send the document to Brussels.

An earlier version of the agenda submitted last autumn was rejected as incomplete due to a lack of internal political consensus.

At the time, Gert Jan Koopman, Director-General for Enlargement at the European Commission, confirmed to the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET) that BiH had failed to submit a final version and urged authorities to do so urgently.

Key stumbling blocks remain unresolved, including political disputes over the Constitutional Court and entity vetoes in key regulatory bodies like the State Aid Agency and Competition Council.

EU officials familiar with the process told N1 that while the current draft has temporarily satisfied Brussels, a final agreement is still required. If the Reform Agenda is not finalised and submitted by mid-August, BiH risks losing access to the EU’s pre-financing funds.

Once approved, the document will trigger access to funds from the EU Growth Plan, a €6 billion package for the Western Balkans that includes €2 billion in grants and €4 billion in highly favourable loans for the 2024–2027 period. The initiative aims to help aspiring EU member states strengthen the rule of law, fight corruption, and implement institutional and economic reforms, as well as launch major infrastructure projects to bring them closer to EU standards.