The European Commission wants the European Union to start talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina about joining.
On Tuesday, President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU will ask countries to start talks with Sarajevo, even though there are still ethnic divisions in the Western Balkans. This is because the West is concerned about the increasing influence of Russia and China in the region.
Bosnia, along with five other countries (Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and North Macedonia) in the Western Balkans, are working to join the European Union.
In the 1990s, there were some attempts to bring six countries together to stop the wars and problems in the region. But people are getting impatient because there hasn’t been much progress for a long time.
However, Russia’s attack on Ukraine and efforts by Moscow and Beijing to gain more influence are making the West pay more attention and are encouraging EU officials to speed up the process.
“We have learned that we can’t just wait for the Western Balkans to get closer to us,” von der Leyen told the European Parliament. “We can’t just say the door is open. ” We should also support them in every way on their journey to join our group.
EU leaders will talk about the suggestion at a meeting in Brussels next week. There’s a chance that the member states won’t support it because Milorad Dodik, a pro-Russian leader who wants to separate Bosnia, is still working against the presidency and other government jobs in the country.
Bosnia is still divided into different ethnic groups, even after the war in the 1990s. In December, Dodik said he wanted to continue making the country weaker until it breaks apart.
The European Commission plans to suggest that the European Union start talking with Bosnia and Herzegovina about joining.
On Tuesday, President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU wants to start talks with Sarajevo, even though there are still divisions between ethnic groups in the Western Balkans. This is because the West is concerned about Russia and China’s increasing influence in the region.
Bosnia is one of six countries in the Western Balkans that are in the process of joining the EU. The other countries are Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and North Macedonia.
In the 1990s, people tried to bring six countries together to stop the wars and problems in the region. But now, people are getting frustrated because there hasn’t been any progress for a long time.
But Russia entering Ukraine and gaining influence is making Western countries pay more attention and pushing EU officials to speed up their work.
“We have found that we can’t just sit and wait for the Western Balkans to get closer to us,” said von der Leyen to the European Parliament. “It’s not okay to just say the door is open. ” We must help and support them as they work towards joining our union.
EU leaders are going to talk about the suggestion at a meeting in Brussels next week. Member states may not approve it because Milorad Dodik, a pro-Russian, separatist Bosnian Serb leader, keeps working against the presidency and other political roles in the country.
Bosnia is still divided by different ethnic groups, even many years after the war in the 1990s. In December, Dodik said he wanted to keep making the country weaker until it breaks apart.
Bosnia became a candidate to join the EU in 2022. Countries who want to join the group must follow a long process to make sure their laws and standards are the same and show that their government and economy are fair and follow the rules of democracy.
Von der Leyen said Bosnia still needs to improve but has also made big progress.
She said that more has been accomplished in a little over a year than in more than ten years. “First, Bosnia and Herzegovina now completely agrees with our foreign and security plans, which is very important in times of political unrest. ”
She also said good things about the country for working hard to stop illegal money activities, supporting terrorism, and controlling how people move into the country.
“The country is proving that it meets the requirements for membership and that its people want to be part of our family,” she said. “The message from Bosnia and Herzegovina is easy to understand. ” We need to make sure our message is easy to understand. The future of Bosnia and Herzegovina depends on us working together.
Bosnia is maybe the weakest of the Balkan countries. There are still problems between different ethnic groups even after the 1992-95 war, where many people died and millions had to leave their homes.