Tag: Bosnia-Herzegovina

The political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is "extremely worrisome" and now appears to be turning into a "dormant frozen conflict," Hido Biščević, secretary-general of the Regional Cooperation Council for South Eastern Europe (RCC), told EurActiv in an interview.

Despite the success of recent reforms and a burgeoning economy, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) has yet to overcome a number of hurdles on its path to EU accession, argues Lidija Topic in a June 2008 policy brief for the European Policy Centre.

The Commission today (26 May) officially launched talks with Bosnia over a visa-free regime, while 16 June was identified as the official day for the eventual signature of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), seen as a key step towards EU membership.

The Commission presented new measures on 5 March to accelerate EU pre-accession preparations with all the Western Balkan countries, including visa liberalisation, negotiations on a 'Transport Community' and better funding for education exchange.

The transatlantic relationship is of a far too wide ranging importance to be destroyed by squabbles such as the run-up to the Iraq war. The USA needs the EU and vice versa, argues Council director Jim Cloos.

The international strategy for Bosnia and Herzegovina risks derailment. It consists entirely of preparing the country for eventual European Union (EU) membership in the hope that integration processes will overcome ethno-political divides and their intertwined economic and criminal interests. However, the police reform needed to begin negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU appears hopelessly blocked, says the International Crisis Group in its latest Europe Report.

The political parties in Bosnia-Herzegovina unanimously support the country's bid for full membership in the EU by 2009, according to Prime Minister Adnan Terzic.