European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday that the Commission will recommend that member states open Bosnia and Herzegovina's membership negotiations to the bloc, despite ethnic divisions in the Western Balkan country.
Bosnia is among the six countries in the region, alongside Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia, that are in different stages of the EU membership process, after a period of wars and crises in the 1990s.
The EU enlargement process with these countries has been blocked for years. But after Russia's aggression in Ukraine, the bloc's officials are more inclined to try to woo them in the face of Kremlin influence.
“We have realized that it is not enough to just wait for the Western Balkans to come closer to us,” Ms von der Leyen told European lawmakers on Tuesday. “It is not enough to say that the door is open. We also need to take responsibility and support their path to reunification in every possible way.”
EU leaders are expected to discuss the European Commission's recommendation at a meeting scheduled for next week in Brussels. There is no guarantee that member states will support him, as Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, a pro-Russian politician, continues to undermine the presidency and other political functions in Bosnia.
The Balkan country is plagued by ethnic divisions, even decades after the war that tore the country apart in the 1990s. In December, Milorad Dodik told the Associated Press news agency that he intends to continue to weaken the country to the point of disintegration.
Membership means a long process to align a country's laws and standards with those of the bloc and prove that their institutions and economies meet democratic norms.
Ms Von der Leyen said Bosnia needed to make “more progress” to join the EU, but emphasized more strongly the “impressive steps” the country has already taken.
“More progress has been made in just over a year than in over a decade,” she said. “Bosnia and Herzegovina is now fully aligned with our foreign and security policy, which is crucial in these times of geopolitical turmoil.”
She also praised Bosnia's efforts in the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing and improving migration control.
“The country is showing that it can fulfill the membership criteria and the aspiration of its citizens to be part of our family,” she said. “The message coming from Bosnia and Herzegovina is clear. So our message must also be clear. The future of Bosnia and Herzegovina lies in the European Union”.
Bosnia is probably the most fragile country in the Balkans. Ethnic tensions there have continued long after the end of the 1992-95 inter-ethnic war that left over 100,000 dead and millions displaced.
If the EU leaders decide to open negotiations with Bosnia, Kosovo remains the only country in the region that does not have the status of a candidate country, although it has submitted a request for such a thing.