The Foreign Minister continues her EU promotional tour in the Western Balkans. In Sarajevo she praised the progress made by Bosnia-Herzegovina, a candidate country. But there are still problems.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has praised Bosnia-Herzegovina’s reform efforts and expressed her hope that the Balkan country can soon begin accession negotiations with the EU. “The country is at a crucial fork in the road,” said the Green politician at a meeting with the Foreign Minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Elmedin Konakovic, in the capital Sarajevo.
Both agreed that the country still has important steps to take in the fight against corruption. The country’s government hopes that the EU Commission will make a recommendation for the start of accession negotiations in March.
Baerbock criticizes “divisive fantasies”
With a view to the division efforts in the predominantly ethnic-Serbian part of the country, Republika Srpska (RS), Baerbock emphasized: “We want Bosnia and Herzegovina to join the European Union as a whole country.” RS is led by Serbian nationalist Milorad Dodik as president, who also openly maintains good relations with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. “We will clearly identify any fantasies of division that create obstacles for the people here in Bosnia and Herzegovina on their way to European integration,” the minister continued.
Host Konakovic praised Germany’s special support in his country’s efforts to join the EU. He acknowledged that corruption was “the biggest problem” in the country. However, high-ranking dignitaries have already been convicted of corruption. In addition, we are in the process of implementing another important EU demand by creating a law to deal with conflicts of interest.
Accession negotiations only take reform steps
In February, Bosnia-Herzegovina also fulfilled another condition set by Brussels with a new law to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. This “shows our willingness and commitment to continue the European path faster than ever before,” Konakovic said.
Bosnia-Herzegovina has been an official candidate for EU membership since December 15, 2022. The next step would be to start accession negotiations. The European Council must decide on this unanimously if the EU Commission recommends it. Whether this happens depends on the reform steps. The Commission has announced that it will present a report on the reform steps by March.
