{"id":347598,"date":"2024-03-21T22:46:05","date_gmt":"2024-03-21T21:46:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2024\/03\/21\/bosnia-ed-erzegovina-negoziati-ue-2\/"},"modified":"2024-07-26T14:41:15","modified_gmt":"2024-07-26T12:41:15","slug":"bosnia-and-herzegovina-eu-membership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2024\/03\/21\/bosnia-and-herzegovina-eu-membership\/","title":{"rendered":"Bosnia and Herzegovina’s day. European Council unblocks the road to EU membership"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels – The endorsement has come, and today,\u00a0“the momentum and the current window of opportunity” has been seized. The 27 EU leaders decided this evening (March 21) to give the green light to the start of accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina<\/strong>, unanimously endorsing the calls<\/a> of the seven\u00a0most open-minded member states (including Italy) to allow Sarajevo to “set out firmly on the path to the European Union.” It<\/strong>\u00a0is a historic day for Bosnia and Herzegovina<\/strong> – even if the breakthrough is ‘only’ political and not technical – since\u00a0the Balkan country has been waiting at the Union’s door for eight years.<\/p>\n

\"Charles<\/a>
From left: Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Prime Minister Borjana Kri\u0161to and European Council President Charles Michel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Based on the\u00a0positive recommendation<\/a>\u00a0from the European Commission\u00a0on March 12, the European Council supported\u00a0the opening of EU accession negotiations; now comes the\u00a0complex\u00a0part. The 27 Member States called on the Commission\u00a0to prepare the negotiating framework<\/strong>, but only “when\u00a0Bosnia and Herzegovina has taken all relevant steps” indicated in the specific recommendation of the EU Enlargement Package 2022, the European Council’s conclusions state. The ball is back\u00a0in Sarajevo, which will have to fulfill the 14 key priorities<\/a>, and only then can the Commission implement\u00a0the negotiating framework to be adopted unanimously in the General Affairs Council<\/strong> (which brings together the 27 \u00a0European General Affairs ministers). Only then will the EU accession negotiations for Bosnia and Herzegovina be launched at the formal level.<\/p>\n

“Your place is in our European family.<\/strong>\u00a0Today’s decision is a key step forward on your EU path,” European Council President Charles Michel\u00a0<\/strong>said<\/a>\u00a0, who posted on X a photo with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Prime Minister\u00a0Borjana Kri\u0161to\u00a0<\/strong>(contacted shortly before the green light from Brussels). “Now the hard work needs to\u00a0continue so Bosnia and Herzegovina steadily advances, as your people want,” he\u00a0added. European Commission President\u00a0Ursula von der Leyen<\/strong> also “welcomed” what she called at a press conference a “historic decision” by the 27 EU leaders: “Bosnia and Herzegovina has made impressive progress towards our Union. <\/strong>More has been done in the last year than in the previous ten years.” The Balkan country now “is fully aligned on\u00a0governance, foreign policy, security, and defense<\/strong>,” confirmed von der Leyen, who also remarked on “important progress in the adoption of crucial legal texts, migration management, and\u00a0dialogue and reconciliation.” The hope is that “today’s decision will lead to new further progress<\/strong>” on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s path towards the Union. “It is an important step to bring the country closer to the EU. An enlarged Union means a stronger Union,” said European Parliament President\u00a0Roberta Metsola.<\/p>\n