Accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European Union

This article was produced by Tanjug in collaboration with European news agencies as part of the European Newsroom (ENR) project.

BRUSSELS - The EU leaders' decision to initiate negotiation talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) marked a historic moment for the country.

The Foreign Ministry has said it "warmly welcomes the decision of the European Council to start the accession negotiations of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the European Union."

EU leaders on Thursday agreed to open talks with Bosnia on joining the bloc, though negotiations will only begin in earnest once the Balkan country has passed more key reforms.

"Congratulations! Your place is in our European family. Today's decision is a key step forward on your EU path," European Council head Charles Michel wrote on X, as leaders met at a Brussels summit.

Given that Hungary is holding 50 billion euros in aid to Ukraine and as a hostage for that country's accession to the EU, Vienna, its critics claim, is using the impasse to push its priorities behind the scenes, ignoring the urgency of the situation in Kyiv.

According to the information available on the website of the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the law enters into force eight days after its publication on the OHR website or the day after its publication in the Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina, whichever comes first.

This informal document concerns the Western Balkans, reports Klix.
This document does not deal with the issue of borders in the region, but asks the European Union for very important support for the entire region.

Amid an ongoing dispute over a Constitutional Court ruling that has angered Bosnian Serb politicians, Milorad Dodik, the Serbian member of the state presidency, has stopped Bosnia from signing up to a status agreement with the European Union border agency, Frontex.

The purpose of the new methodology is, as Commissioner Olivr Vrhelyi said, to re-establish a credible perspective of the Western Balkans EU membership.

A privileged special partnership would be a substitute for a full membership.
According to the proposal, financial support, special arrangements for access to European markets and other benefits would be offered to the Western Balkan countries in exchange for a "silent withdrawal" of full membership.

European integration and NATO membership are very important to the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina; they are two main foreign policy goals and an important pillar for stability in the Balkans for the economic development of the region, the Bosnian Prime Minister Denis Zvizdic said in Bucharest on Thursday. "From the very beginning, I want to thank Mrs Prime Minister (...) for support.