After the ministers for European affairs previously recommended to the leaders of the member states that Bosnia and Herzegovina be granted candidate status, the European Council confirmed that decision at yesterday's session.

The heads of state or government of the EU member states confirmed on Thursday, without discussion, the recommendation agreed two days ago by the ministers for European affairs that Bosnia and Herzegovina be granted the status of a candidate country for membership in the European Union.

Ahead of the meeting of ministers for European affairs on Tuesday in Brussels, Croatian and Greek Prime Ministers Andrej Plenković and Kirijakos Micootakis sent a letter to European Council President Charles Michel and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in which they emphasized strong support for the European integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In October, the European Commission recommended that Bosnia and Herzegovina be declared a candidate for membership in the Union, despite the fact that the country has not yet fulfilled almost any of the prerequisites for this, which were defined back in 2019, when 14 reform priorities were determined.

The EU Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Johann Sattler, congratulated the citizens on the decision of the European Council. "Candidate status is our sign that we believe in this country and that we share your hopes for a better future," said Sattler, emphasizing that candidate status means stronger protection of human rights, more trust, an effective fight against corruption, functional public institutions, a stronger economy and better health care and education.

The road to full membership of the European Union for Bosnia and Herzegovina is sure to be a long and complicated one. In comparison Croatia was granted candidate status in 2004 but didn’t become a full member until 2013. And Bosnia and Herzegovina isn’t the only country with candidate status at the moment. There are eight recognised candidates for membership of the European Union: Turkey (since 1999), North Macedonia (2005), Montenegro (2010), Serbia (2012), Albania (2014), Moldova (2022), Ukraine (2022), and Bosnia and Herzegovina (2022). Clearly obtaining candidate status doesn’t guarantee entry into the European Union.