Bosnia and Herzegovina was granted EU candidate status in December 2022. The European Commission must now make a positive recommendation to begin formal accession negotiations.
Ukraine and Moldova also intend to take another step forward in the expansion process. The European Commission on Tuesday will propose a so-called negotiating framework that will set guidelines and fundamental principles for accession negotiations. EU countries must then negotiate these texts.
Diplomats and EU officials warn that an agreement between the bloc’s 27 members needed to formally begin negotiations is unlikely to happen before the June European elections. For some EU members, including Austria, it was vital that progress in Ukraine and Moldova went hand in hand with progress regarding the future accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Visits to Sarajevo
The next step will be for EU leaders to discuss recommendations on Bosnia and Herzegovina when they meet in Brussels next week.
Ahead of the announcement, the foreign ministers of Austria, Italy and Germany traveled to Sarajevo last week to support the start of accession negotiations.
At a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock last week, her Bosnian counterpart Elmedin Konakovic said he hoped there would be no further disappointment.
He also added that it is extremely important to remember what will happen if Bosnia and Herzegovina does not continue on the European path.
Block expansion
The publication writes that the European Commission was also supposed to present a document on how to internally prepare the bloc for future enlargement.
This is especially true for Ukraine’s accession. But this document, which was originally scheduled for February 27, has now been postponed until March 20, according to the latest agenda of the European Commission.
Negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU
Let us recall that on December 14, the leaders of the European Union countries during the summit approved the opening of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the bloc. This comes amid fears that Hungary will block the decision by vetoing it.
For Ukraine to join the European Union, Ukrainian legislation must be assessed for compliance with EU legislation. On January 17, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the start of screening Ukrainian legislation.
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olga Stefanishina stated that this procedure could take up to a year.
What path to the European Union has Ukraine already taken and when to expect entry into the EU – read the material from RBC-Ukraine.
2024-03-11 20:11:44
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