Von der Leyen calls on Bosnia to “take advantage of the wind of change” and advance integration with the EU

BRUSSELS, 28 Oct. () –

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has demanded this Friday “unity of action” from the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to “take advantage of the wind of change” in the Enlargement policy of the European Union and advance in the integration with the block, after Brussels has endorsed granting candidate status to the Balkan country.

In a speech from Sarajevo, within the framework of her tour of the Balkans, the leader of the Community Executive has indicated that “times of rapid change” are being lived in Europe and has asked to take advantage of the new march in integration policy, with the opening of the accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania and the recognition of Moldova and Ukraine as candidate countries.

“There is a new impulse, a wind of change, which is bringing the European family closer together and now is the time for Bosnia to move forward as well”, he underlined, acknowledging that a year ago it would be “impossible” to think that Bosnia would be so close to achieving candidate status and insisting that if Bosnia finds “unity of action” there will be “nothing” to stop it.

Just two weeks ago, the community leader announced the proposal to grant candidate status to Bosnia, in a speech at the EU Ambassadors’ Conference. This candidacy is based “on the understanding that a series of steps will be taken” , in reference to reforms in the judiciary, fight against corruption and others that are pending.

In this way, Brussels follows the line set by the leaders of the Twenty-seven who, at the June summit, pointed out the importance of unblocking the accession of the Balkans to the EU and agreed to give a clear signal of support to the region in the midst of the war in Ukraine . At that meeting, progress was made in the opening of negotiations in Albania and Macedonia, in addition to the issue of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country whose European path is subject to an agenda of 14 political and democratic reforms set by the European Commission in 2019.

Von der Leyen recognized in his speech that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has an important resonance in the Balkans and especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina. “Not only has Putin launched an assault on the basic international rules that have guaranteed peace in this country since 1995, he is also having a direct economic impact on all the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” he said.

For this reason, he has defended that the best solution to face this challenge is “an even closer cooperation with the EU”. “This is in your immediate interest and it will also bring you closer to our single market and membership of our Union,” he said.