World News | EU Member States Agree to Give Bosnia Candidate Status

Brussels, Dec 13 (AP) European affairs ministers from the 27 EU nations agreed Tuesday to endorse a recommendation from the bloc's executive arm to grant Bosnia candidate member status.

Despite continuing criticism of the way the Balkan nation is run, Bosnia made a significant step toward the wealthy club after getting unanimous support from the minister gathered in Brussels.

Also Read | UK Man Stabs Colleague to Death Moments After She Prepared To Give Him Oral Sex; Convicted by Court.

They approved Bosnia's bid just a week after EU leaders gave more concrete signs to six Western Balkan countries aspiring to join the EU that they have a future place in the bloc. Tuesday's decision needs to be formally approved by the leaders, who have a summit in Brussels set for Thursday.

“The EU enlargement represents the most effective process to ensure a stable and secure Europe," Czech minister Jan Lipavsky, whose country holds the European Council's rotating presidency, said.

Also Read | Pakistan: Imran Khan Asks Party Workers To Step Up Political Activities To Face Possible Snap Polls.

Since Russia attacked Ukraine in late February, EU officials have repeated that stepping up the bloc's engagement with Western Balkans nations was more crucial than ever to maintaining Europe's security.

At a summit in Albania, the EU “reconfirmed its full and unequivocal commitment to the European Union membership perspective of the Western Balkans” and called for the acceleration of accession talks with the membership hopefuls.

The European Commission recommended granting Bosnia candidate member status in October, more than six years after the country formally applied to join and nearly three decades since it emerged from a 1992-95 interethnic war that left more than 100,000 people dead.

The Commission can only advise which nations it thinks should become EU candidates, and all existing member countries must agree unanimously to approve the step for it to happen.

Once a country becomes a candidate, it still can take years before admission to the club takes place. The EU last admitted a new member, the Balkan nation of Croatia, in 2013. The path toward membership is a lengthy process, as countries must meet a detailed host of economic and political conditions.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said in October that Bosnia needs reforms on issues that include the judiciary, battling corruption, and constitutional and electoral changes. Little progress on those issues has been made in recent years.

Bisera Turkovic, Bosnia's foreign minister, said become an EU candidate would help the country access new funds and investments in addition.

“Economically, investors from around the world will see in Bosnia, as an EU country candidate, a clear positive side and chance for progress,” she said.

While Bosnia expressed a desire to join the EU starting in 2003, the country's ethnic leaders have so far proven unwilling to put aside their differences and implement necessary reforms.

The staunchly pro-Russian Bosnian Serb leader, Milorad Dodik, has increasingly threatened to separate Bosnia's Serb-run part from the rest of the country.

Meanwhile, Kosovo's government said Tuesday it would apply for candidate status this week amid a long-lasting dispute with neighbouring Serbia.

“It is time that the potential candidate status turns into an official one, thus passing on to a new stage of relations with the EU,” Prime Minister Albin Kurti said during a Cabinet meeting.

Kosovo is the latest country in Western Balkans to take that step. Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia are in membership negotiations with the bloc.

However, the EU has repeatedly warned Serbia and Kosovo they must normalise relations to be eligible for membership in the bloc. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, and the government does not recognise its former province's statehood.

A sizable ethnic Serb minority lives in northern Kosovo, where tensions have been high in recent days. Serbia fought a brutal 1998-99 war with ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)