UPDATE - Bosnia-Herzegovina gets candidate status for EU membership

UPDATES WITH REMARKS FROM OFFICIALS

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) – The European Council on Thursday granted Bosnia-Herzegovina a candidate status for EU membership.

The EU leaders approved the decision at a summit in Brussels following a recommendation by the European Commission in October and voting in the EU Council and General Affairs Council this week.

The bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell welcomed the decision.

"This is a decision for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Political leaders can now turn this ambition into reality through decisive reforms," he said.

The Slovenian Foreign Ministry congratulated Bosnia-Herzegovina on its gaining EU candidate status.

"This decision is important for the EU, the Western Balkans region and for the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We congratulate BiH on this historic day!" it said in a statement.

Oliver Varhelyi, an EU commissioner for enlargement, welcomed the decision as well, saying that Bosnia's future lies in the EU.

"The time has finally come! Bosnia and Herzegovina is now one step closer to the European Union," Austria's Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said.

Denis Becirovic, a Bosniak member of the tripartite Bosnian presidency, said that the decision is an encouragement for all the citizens.

"With this decision, the relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EU are further strengthened. The candidate status is a step forward in the process of European integration, although there is still a lot of work to be done," he added.

Bosnian Croat leader, Dragan Covic, who officially submitted Bosnia's application for the EU membership in 2016 as the chairman of the presidential council, said it took almost seven years to reach the decision on Thursday.

"We can last in this status for years. Our goal is to get out of this status by the end of next year. We have been given a hand, we must accept it to the end," Covic said.

Serb leader Milorad Dodik said he already lost his optimism.

"I admit that if it was a few years ago, I would have been more optimistic. Now I don't really care. Basically, I think that this is not part of the regular procedures. I think it's a belated reaction to the injustice that was done this year, after granting Ukraine and others that status," he said.

Bosnia-Herzegovina's top priorities are joining the political and economic community of European states, along with joining NATO.

The Balkan country became a potential candidate for the bloc during the European Council summit in Thessaloniki in 2003.

It officially applied for EU membership in 2016.

Candidacy status is the first step in a country's long-term EU accession process.

After a country is granted candidate status, accession negotiations begin in stages, provided that the conditions are met.

Accession negotiations can take years to begin.