The executive body of the EU will recommend member states to open formal membership negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said, AFP reports.
The country has been an official candidate for membership since 2022 but had to implement a series of important reforms before it could start accession talks with the bloc's 27 member states.
Von der Leyen told the European Parliament that BiH "has shown that it can fulfil the membership criteria and the aspiration of its citizens to be part of our family. This is the reason why we will decide to recommend to the Council to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina."
The war in Ukraine has reignited the EU's drive to expand into Central and Eastern Europe, and the EU executive is due to formally present its latest progress report on BiH later today.
While warning that "more progress is needed to join our union", von der Leyen said that "Bosnia and Herzegovina has taken impressive steps towards us".
"More progress has been made in just over a year than in more than a decade," von der Leyen told MEPs in Strasbourg.
She said BiH was now "fully aligned" with EU foreign and security policy, improving the management of migration flows and adopting laws to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
It welcomed the country's agreement to include the judgments of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in national criminal records.
It also noted further steps towards dialogue and reconciliation following the country's 1992-1995 war, with the establishment of a new peacebuilding committee.
"The message coming from Bosnia and Herzegovina is clear. Therefore, our message should be clear as well. The future of Bosnia and Herzegovina is in our Union," said Von der Leyen.
The Commission's recommendation comes ahead of the European Council on 21 and 22 March, which is seen as the last chance for Bosnia to start membership negotiations before the European elections in June.
All 27 EU member states will have to agree to the move before negotiations can begin.
The start of negotiations is only the beginning of a long process of reform, which usually takes years before a country finally joins the EU. / BGNES
