BRUSSELS — European Union leaders were poised to agree in principle Thursday to open membership negotiations with Bosnia-Herzegovina, even though the Western Balkan country must still do a lot of work before talks can begin.
The 27 leaders were expected to give the political green light at a summit in Brussels after the European Commission — the EU’s executive arm — last week agreed to start talks in spite of deep lingering ethnic divisions in the nation with 3.2 million inhabitants.
In the latest version of the draft summit conclusions, leaders said that “the European Council decides to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
The draft emphasizes the need for Bosnia to keep on taking “all relevant steps set out” by the Commission that include economic, judicial and political reforms as well as better efforts to tackle corruption and money laundering.
Bosnia is riven by ethnic divisions, even decades after the 1992-95 war that tore the country apart, leaving more than 100,000 people dead and millions displaced.
In 2022, Bosnia was granted candidate status. For candidates to join the EU, they have to go through a lengthy process to align their laws and standards with those of the bloc and show their institutions and economies meet democratic norms.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said upon his arrival in Brussels that a lot of work still needs to be done before the country can really get into the thick of negotiations with the bloc.
Netherland’s Prime Minister Mark Rutte speaks with the media as he arrives for a EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 21, 2024. European Union leaders are gathering on Thursday to thrash out new ways to help boost arms and ammunition production for Ukraine, and to discuss the war in Gaza amid deep concern about Israeli plans to launch a ground offensive in the city of Rafah. Credit: AP/Omar Havana
“It’s crucial that Bosnia will fulfil all the necessary actions in the Commission’s report so that you really…
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