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The European Commission will recommend opening accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ursula von der Leyen announced in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
With enlargement on the agenda of a European Council summit next week, the Commission chief praised the progress Bosnia has made on the road to EU membership.
“Since we granted candidate status, Bosnia and Herzegovina has taken impressive steps towards us,” von der Leyen told MEPs. “More progress has been achieved in just over a year than in over a decade.”
The Commission president also stressed that the EU has changed its approach to the Western Balkans.
“We have realized that it is not enough to just wait for the Western Balkans to move closer to us. It is not enough to say that the door is open,” she said. “We must also take responsibility, and support their path towards our Union in any possible way.”
Bosnia and Herzegovina was granted candidate status in December 2022.
The European Council decided to open membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova in December 2023.
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg welcomed von der Leyen’s announcement, stressing the geopolitical importance of Bosnia and Herzegovina for Europe.
“At a time when war has returned to the European continent and geopolitical uncertainty is on the rise, all EU leaders must be aware that the EU integration of the Western Balkans is also a matter of our own security and stability,” he said.
