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Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) - European Union Relations

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 2022 candidate status brought a much-needed positive dynamic. A new government has been set up swiftly after elections and has started to deliver on reforms, specifically through the amendments introducing integrity checks in the judiciary. Yet, further efforts are needed. This included adopting important rule of law and judicial reforms and moving forward with constitutional and electoral reforms, which are of utmost priority to ensure equal rights for all citizens. It was also important to preserve the constitutional order of the country.

The secessionist and authoritarian measures introduced in the Republika Srpska entity are not in line with the EU path. Further efforts are required for Bosnia and Herzegovina to fulfil the key priorities set out in the Commission's Opinion on its member application. Therefore, the EU Commission recommended the opening of EU accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria was achieved.

The 12 February 2018 European Commission enlargement strategy for the Western Balkans stated that "With sustained effort and engagement, Bosnia and Herzegovina could become a candidate for accession."

The Western Balkans are part of Europe, geographically surrounded by EU Member States. The peoples of the EU and the region have a common heritage and history and a future defined by shared opportunities and challenges. "Accession negotiations are already well underway with Montenegro and Serbia. With strong political will, the delivery of real and sustained reforms, and definitive solutions to disputes with neighbours, they could potentially be ready for membership in a 2025 perspective. This perspective is extremely ambitious. Whether it is achieved will depend fully on the objective merits and results of each country. ... Today, the Western Balkans countries show clear elements of state capture, including links with organised crime and corruption at all levels of government and administration, as well as a strong entanglement of public and private interests. All this feeds a sentiment of impunity and inequality. There is also extensive political interference in and control of the media."

As a potential candidate for EU membership, BiH signed a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU in June 2008. BiH declares that it is committed to the SAA, but overall progress in the implementation of adopted policies and international agreements is very slow. While the EU provides guidance to the BiH authorities on reform priorities as part of the European Partnership, it is solely BiH‘s responsibility to meet the Copenhagen political criteria. These require stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and respect for and protection of minorities. In addition, regional cooperation, good neighborly relations with enlargement countries and member states, and respect for international obligations, such as cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), are also considered necessary preconditions. There has been little consensus on how to achieve the main reform priorities among leading BiH political parties, and there have been attempts to reverse previously agreed reforms.

The European Union started talks with Bosnia in October 2009 on an accord to move the country closer to joining the 25-nation bloc. The EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn travelled to Bosnia to open talks on the Stabilization and Association Agreement. EU foreign ministers said Bosnia's progress on the agreement depends on its willingness to continue reforms and cooperate with the U.N. war crimes tribunal. Two key Bosnian war crimes suspects, Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and army commander Ratko Mladic, remained at large.

In February 2010 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told US Senators the United States wanted to see the door remain open to NATO and European Union membership for the Balkans country. The Secretary said the United States is encouraging the E.U. to do more to demonstrate the benefits to Bosnia-Herzegovina of membership, and to work with the Sarajevo government on what it must do to become eligible. By 2012 Bosnia was cited by the EU as needing “more work” on such areas as improving functionality and efficiency of the government, and judicial reform.

BiH is lagging behind its neighbors‘ political and economic progress. Croatia is close to EU membership; Serbia and Montenegro made clear progress in that direction in 2010. In comparison, by failing to establish a competitive economy and enact political reforms, BiH is lagging further behind. The Commission to the Council and the European Parliament recently acknowledged that BiH has made limited progress in addressing the political criteria for joining the EU. Investors choose neighboring countries with better EU prospects and more competitive investment environments. According to the Global Competitiveness Index 2010–2011 published by the World Economic Forum, Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked 102nd among 139 economies, and the lowest in Southeast Europe [note that Kosovo was not ranked by the Global Competitiveness Index]. Other economies of Southeast Europe were ranked as follows: FYR Macedonia (79), Montenegro (49), Albania (88), Croatia (77), and Serbia (96).

The Progress Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina is part of the 2013 Enlargement Package adopted by the European Commission on 16 October 2013. The Commission concluded that Bosnia and Herzegovina has made very limited progress in addressing the political criteria. A shared vision by the political representatives on the overall direction and future of the country, or on how it should function, remains absent. Despite intensive facilitation efforts by the EU, the country's political representatives could not agree on a solution to implement the European Court of Human Rights judgement in the Sejdic-Finci case regarding discrimination against citizens on grounds of ethnicity. Addressing this judgement remains key for the entry into force of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and for a credible application for EU membership. No progress has been achieved either on establishing an effective coordination mechanism on EU-related matters between various levels of government. Such a coordination mechanism is essential to enable the representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina to speak on behalf of their country and to commit when interacting with the EU.

Bosnia and Herzegovina made very limited progress in addressing the political criteria for membership in the EU. The EU has engaged in intensive facilitation efforts to help the country's political representatives to find common ground for implementing the Sejdic-Finci judgement. This issue has also been the focus of discussions of the EU-BiH High Level Dialogue on the Accession Process. This judgement needs to be implemented as a matter of urgency in order to have the amendments of the constitution and election law in place by April 2014 at the latest, in time for the next general elections. An EU coordination mechanism between the State, the Entities and the Brcko District for the transposition, implementation and enforcement of EU laws remains to be established as a matter of urgency to enable the country to speak to the EU with one voice and to make effective use of EU funds under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance.

The Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina had made only very limited progress in adopting EU-related legislation. The failed attempt to reshuffle the government in the Federation has negatively affected its functionality and contributed to fragmentation of policy-making at all levels. The process of public administration reform lacks the necessary political support. The issue of the financial sustainability of public administration at all levels needs to be addressed. The human and financial resources of the Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina remain insufficient. Regarding the country's obligations on state aid under the Interim Agreement, the State Aid Council has been established, but is not functioning properly. A state aid inventory has been submitted. Bosnia and Herzegovina has delayed the process of the technical adaptation of the Interim Agreement/Stabilisation and Association Agreement in view of Croatia’s accession to the EU.

A significant number of recommendations issued in the framework of the Structured Dialogue on Justice have begun to be implemented and some already resulted in concrete outcomes. Good progress has been achieved as regards processing war crimes and reforming the state-level judiciary. The conclusion of the Protocols on cooperation in prosecution of perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide with Serbia and Croatia has been an important development at regional level. However, Bosnia and Herzegovina has made only limited progress in the fight against corruption and organised crime. Corruption remains widespread, with an insufficient track record of investigation and prosecution in high-profile cases, which has a negative impact on society and the economy.

Progress has been made with regard to the Sarajevo Declaration Process on refugees and internally displaced persons. There has been some progress in implementing the Roma Strategy as regards housing but the Roma minority continue to face very difficult living conditions and discrimination. Despite some improvements, discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons remains widespread. Political and financial pressure on the media has increased. The independence of the Communication Regulatory Agency remains to be secured. No progress has been made to make schools more inclusive.

Following a slight contraction of the economy of 1.1% in 2012, the economy started to recover slightly in early 2013. Nevertheless, unemployment is still very high. Consensus on economic and fiscal policy essentials remains weak, impeding reforms at the country level. The complex political and administrative structure of the country is unlikely to be fiscally sustainable. The legal system is equally complex, with the implementation of laws hampered by a weak enforcement capacity, which, together with an inefficient judicial system, is a clear deterrent for investment and a source of corruption.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has made little further progress towards a functioning market economy. Considerable further reform efforts need to be pursued to enable the country to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union over the long-term. The authorities need to improve the quality of public finances as well as fiscal reporting. The authorities furthermore need to develop a pension reform in the Federation and implement it with a clear timetable. Reinvigorated privatisation would have the potential to improve the fiscal situation and bring about more competition in the economy. The private sector needs to be supported by a sound business environment, most notably by improving contract enforcement and establishing a single economic space in the country. The informal sector remains an important challenge.

There was very limited progress as regards approximation to EU law and standards. This concerns in particular the fields of veterinary and food safety, competition, public procurement, energy, environment, climate change and transport. In other areas such as rural development or regional policy there is little progress due to the lack of agreement on the relevant country-wide strategies. In some cases appointments for important bodies are not made, which is hampering legislative progress. Other institutions, such as the State Aid Council, have been suffering from a lack of financial resources and couldn't function properly. One of the few positive exceptions is the area of intellectual, industrial and commercial property rights where preparations to align with EU standards are advanced.

In order for Bosnia and Herzegovina to be able to export products of animal origin to the EU it is necessary to advance rapidly with the transposition of the EU's veterinary and food safety legislation. Bosnia and Herzegovina was the only country in the region which had not aligned its legislation to the 2004 EU directives on public procurement. It was expected by the EU to do so as a matter of urgency.

In October 2014 a European Union enlargement report put Bosnia-Herzegovina at the back of the Balkan queue for EU membership as ethnic divisions stemming from the war, which ended almost two decades ago, continued to block reforms needed to move the country forward.

Bosnia and Herzegovina plans to apply for EU membership within the next two months, the country’s Chairman of the Council of Ministers Denis Zvizdic said on 11 December 2015. “We intend to apply for membership in one to two months’ time, in order to launch a process that will conclude in the country gaining candidate status [for EU membership]”. The Stabilization and Association Council between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EU held its first meeting. The first stage of the country’s accession to the bloc came into force on 01 June 2015. It included the creation of a free trade zone.

Key dates

• 1999: The EU proposes the new Stabilisation and Association Process for countries of Southeast Europe
• June 2000: The European Council states that all the Stabilisation and Association countries are potential candidates for EU membership.
• June 2003: Thessaloniki Summit; the EU perspective for the Western Balkans is confirmed
• June 2008: Signature of the SAA and Interim Agreement on trade and trade-related issues
• December 2010: Visa-free travel to Schengen area for citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• June 2011: Launch of Structured Dialogue on Justice with the aim of further consolidating the judicial system in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• September 2011: Reinforcement of EU's role in Bosnia and Herzegovina following the decoupling of EU Special Representative's mandate from the Office of the High Representative
• June 2012: Launch of High Level Dialogue on the Accession Process to address EU accession requirements