BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union leaders agreed on Thursday to make Bosnia and Herzegovina a formal candidate to join the bloc of 27 nations.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina was granted the status of candidate country today. A strong signal to the people, but also a clear expectation for the new authorities to deliver on reforms,” European Council President Charles Michel said in a tweet.
General affairs ministers of the EU countries had already agreed on the candidate status for Bosnia earlier this week.
It will be joining other EU candidates – Albania,Moldova, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia,Turkey and Ukraine – in the process to join the EU, which cantake many years and involves complex negotiations on adjustinglocal laws to match those of the EU.
(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
