Bosnia and Herzegovina is on the agenda for future enlargement of the European Union (EU), having been recognised by the EU as a "candidate country" for accession by a decision of the European Council in 2022. Bosnia and Herzegovina takes part in the Stabilisation and Association Process and trade relations are regulated by an Interim Agreement.
Bosnia and Herzegovina formally applied for EU membership on 15 February 2016, following years of constitutional reforms and engagements with the Dayton Agreement. Bosnia's failure to meet the conditions for the closure of the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including addressing state and military property ownership issues and implementing constitutional reforms, had prevented the country from submitting an application until 2016.
On 15 December 2022, the European Council officially granted candidacy status to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On 12 March 2024, the European Commission recommended opening EU membership talks for Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 21 March 2024, all 27 EU leaders agreed in principle to open EU accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina, but it must first fulfill all conditions provided by the Commission. On the same day, it was speculated by Predrag Kojović, a member of parliament for "Naša stranka", that the earliest possible entry in an optimistic scenario would be 2030, with some other figures such as Miro Lazović agreeing with the statement. However, this speculation is heavily challenged by various other statements by both Antonio Tajani and Marta Kos, stating that whilst the rest of the Western Balkans could enter the European Union by 2029-2030 (or earlier), Bosnia and Herzegovina might take more time to be ready to fully join the European Union. Some "pessimists" within the nation and outside of it do not see Bosnia and Herzegovina entering the European Union before 2050.
It is one of nine current EU candidate countries, together with Albania, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.
Relations The EU established a regional approach to the Western Balkans in 1997, with political and economic conditionality criteria for the development of bilateral relations. The following year, an EU/Bosnia and Herzegovina Consultative Task Force was put in place to start the process. Since 2006, the task force has been replaced by the Reform Process Monitoring (RPM).
An Interim Agreement on Trade and Trade-related issues was signed and entered into force on 1 July 2008. The Interim Agreement was the legal framework for trade between Bosnia and the EU between 2008 and 2015. Unilateral trade preferences ("Autonomous Trade Measures", ATM) were introduced by the EU for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the year 2000. Trade has increased since 2008 and EU products have been granted reciprocal preference in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The EU is the main trading partner of Bosnia and Herzegovina; 73.5% of the exports from the country went to the EU in 2014, following Croatia's accession.
Financial assistance In the 2007–2013 budgetary period, Bosnia and Herzegovina was a beneficiary of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) funds. As a "potential candidate country", Bosnia was allowed to finance projects under the first two IPA components, Transition Assistance and Institution Building and Cross-Border Cooperation. The eligibility for the three advanced IPA components would be conditional on Bosnia's acquisition of EU candidacy status and its implementation of a Decentralised Implementation System, streamlining administrative capacities in order to autonomously manage projects and disburse funds with only ex-post Commission controls.
The priorities for IPA action for Bosnia were set in the 2008 European Partnership.
Bosnia and Herzegovina was receiving EUR 822 million of developmental aid until 2020 from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, a funding mechanism for EU candidate countries.
Visa liberalisation process On 1 January 2008, a visa facilitation and readmission agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EU entered into force. Bosnia and Herzegovina took part in the dialogue for visa liberalisation with Schengen countries, launched by the European Commission on 26 May 2008. On November 8, 2010 the Council of the European Union approved visa-free travel to the EU for citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The decision entered into force on 15 December 2010.
EU special representative
Peter Sørensen took over the position of EUSR in Bosnia and Herzegovina from September 2011 until October 2014. His post was decoupled from the one of High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina (which remained in the hands of Valentin Inzko), and merged with the one of Head of the EU Delegation to BiH, aiming at strengthening the EU pre-accession strategy for Bosnia and Herzegovina.BH News He was replaced by Lars-Gunnar Wigemark. In 2019, Johann Sattler was appointed.
CFSP and ESDP operations The European Union Police Mission (EUPM) launched in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2004 constitutes the first European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) mission. In the same year, EUFOR Althea replaced NATO's SFOR mission.
Stabilisation and Association Process A Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP) for the five countries of the region, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, was proposed in 1999. In June 2000, the European Council in Feira recognised that all the SAP countries are "potential candidates" for EU membership. In November of the same year, the regional SAP process was launched at the Zagreb summit.
The process towards the signature of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) began in 2003 with a feasibility study by the Commission on Bosnia and Herzegovina's capacity to implement the SAA. The same year, in June, the European Council in Thessaloniki confirmed the SAP as the main framework of the relations between the EU and the Western Balkans, recalling the perspective of accession for all the countries of the region.
The EU Council adopted a new European Partnership with Bosnia and Herzegovina on 18 February 2008,Text of the European Partnership for Bosnia and Herzegovina setting the short-term and mid-term priorities for EU assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina through IPA funds.
Stabilisation and Association Agreement Negotiations and signature Negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) – required before applying for membership – started in 2005 and were originally expected to be finalised in late 2007. but negotiations stalled due to a disagreement over police reform.
The SAA was initialled on 4 December 2007 by caretaker Prime Minister Nikola Špirić. The initialing came in the wake of successful negotiations by Miroslav Lajčák in regards to passing his new quorum rules laws and also the commitment of Bosnian and Herzegovinian politicians to implementing police reform. Following the adoption of the police reforms in April 2008, the agreement was signed on 16 June 2008.Bosnia and Herzegovina initials pre-membership agreement with EU, Xinhua, 2007-12-05Bosnia signs EU pre-accession deal, EUobserver, 2008-06-17 Reforms promised by the Prud Agreement would "build the ability of the State to meet the requirements of the EU integration process".To Continue in the Spirit of Prud Agreement
The blockage of the SAA The final EU state to ratify the SAA, France, did so in February 2011. The SAA should have entered into effect within 40 days but was frozen since Bosnia had not complied with its previous obligations, which would have led to the immediate suspension of the SAA. The obligations to be met by Bosnia before the SAA can come into force include the adoption of a law on state aids and a national census, and implementation of the Finci and Sejdic ruling of the ECHR requiring an amendment to the Constitution to allow members of minorities to be elected to the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and to gain seats in the House of Peoples. The EU has also required that the country create a single unified body to manage their relations with the EU. The adoption of state laws on the issues above are prevented by the opposition of the government of the Republika Srpska, which considers such issues a matter of exclusive competence of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina.Press: Bosnia-EU relations put on hold , Daily T.Portal, 26 April 2011
The Croatian initiative In March 2014, Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusić at a session of the Council of the European Union proposed to other EU countries to grant Bosnia and Herzegovina the status of a Special EU Candidate Country in an aide-mémoire submitted during the meeting. Minister Pusić pointed out that Croatia does not suggest lowering the membership criteria but rather that member states should take a proactive stance in cooperation with Bosnia and Herzegovina and not just to put high criteria and then just wait for something to happen. Croatia has also proposed that implementation of the judgment in the case of Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina should not anymore be a prerequisite for Bosnia and Herzegovina's progress towards the EU, but that this issue, together with the issue of a new constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina, should be resolved after Bosnia and Herzegovina gets the status of Special EU Candidate country in negotiating chapters 23 and 24.
The German-British initiative An initiative of the foreign ministers of Germany and the United Kingdom, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Philip Hammond, respectively, for the acceleration of the Accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European Union was announced at the so-called Aspen Initiative Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in late 2014. The two proposed that the SAA enter into force without first implementing the constitutional amendments required by Finci and Sejdic, provided that Bosnian authorities approve a declaration pledging their commitment to making the reforms required for European integration. The foreign ministers called on local Bosnian politicians to begin with necessary reforms as soon as possible after a new government is formed after the 2014 Bosnian general election.
The declaration was jointly signed by the tripartite presidency on 29 January, and approved by parliament on 23 February. The Council of the EU approved the SAA's entry into force on 16 March 2015. The SAA entered into force on 1 June 2015.
Domestic reactions to the German-British initiative Željko Komšić, member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, expressed his support for the initiative at a meeting with the ambassadors of Germany and the United Kingdom. Milorad Dodik, former President of Republika Srpska and member of the Presidency, said he supports the initiative as long as it does not affect the constitutional jurisdiction of Republika Srpska. The Paneuropean Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina stated that it fully supports the initiative and the letter of the German and British foreign ministers addressed to the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
International reactions to the German-British initiative High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina: The spokesman of the office of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina stated that the OHR welcomes any initiative that could unblock progress in reforms by increasing the functionality and efficiency of the state and thus speed up the progress of Bosnia and Herzegovina on its path towards the European Union. European Union: High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said that she highly appreciates the ideas presented in Berlin and that their aim is for Bosnia and Herzegovina again to begin to move towards European integration.