EU Council Recommends Granting EU Candidate Status To Bosnia And Herzegovina

Muhammad Irfan Published December 13, 2022 | 09:32 PM

The EU Council on Tuesday deemed it possible to grant candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina; however, the decision has to be formally approved by EU leaders at the upcoming summit in Brussels.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th December, 2022) The EU Council on Tuesday deemed it possible to grant candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina; however, the decision has to be formally approved by EU leaders at the upcoming summit in Brussels.

"Following the June European Council conclusions, and in light of the Commission's subsequent recommendation of 12 October 2022, the Council recommends to grant candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina, subject to confirmation by the European Council, on the understanding that the steps specified in the Commission's recommendation are taken, in order to strengthen the rule of law, the fight against corruption and organised crime, migration management and fundamental rights," the Council said in a statement.

The Council expects confirmation of this decision by EU leaders at the summit scheduled for Thursday, the statement read.

The EU accession process generally consists of three steps, according to the EU Commission.

The first is formally obtaining candidate status, which does not mean starting accession negotiations. The second stage is negotiation, which can begin only after a negotiating mandate is unanimously approved by the countries of the union. This stage includes the candidate country's acceptance of current EU legislation and the implementation of necessary reforms. The pace of negotiations depends on the speed of the reforms and the process of compliance with EU law. When negotiations and accompanying reforms are properly completed, the country can join the EU.

Gaining candidate status is the first step in a long process of accession. Turkey has been a candidate since 1999, North Macedonia since 2005, Montenegro since 2010, and Serbia since 2012. Croatia was the latest country to join the EU in 2013 after a 10-year accession process.