European Commission to recommend EU membership talks with Bosnia: Von der Leyen

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - The European Commission will recommend the European Council to start EU accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, the commission president said on Monday.

“Today we will decide to recommend to the Council to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Ursula von der Leyen said at the European Parliament and added that the country has taken "impressive steps."

She said that the EU's policy toward the Western Balkans has changed recently.

“We realized that it is not enough to wait for the Western Balkans to approach us. It is not enough to say that the door is open. We must also take responsibility and ensure that the path to the EU is possible. We must support it in every way possible,” said Von der Leyen.

Bosnia and Herzegovina applied for EU membership in February 2016 and was granted EU candidate status in December 2022.