The Commission of the European Union has adopted the 2023 Enlargement Package through which it has provided a detailed assessment of the progress made by Georgia and Bosnia and Herzegovina among many others and has issued some recommendations for the countries.
In light of the results achieved, the Commission recommended that the Council grants Georgia the status of a candidate country.
Such a recommendation was made after being assessed as well as approved that the country has taken all the necessary steps.
In the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Commission recommended that the accession negotiations with the country begin as soon as the necessary degree of compliance with the criteria of membership is achieved.
As explained, Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to make additional efforts in fulfilling the key priorities that have been set out on its EU membership application.
While Bosnia and Herzegovina applies further efforts, the Commission said that the authorities will make sure to monitor the country’s progress and if it is meeting all the requirements in the areas related to the opening of negotiations.
A report regarding the progress of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be sent to the Council of the EU in March 2024, at the latest, and then the authorities will take a decision on the matter.
Accession is and will remain a merit-based process, fully dependent on the objective progress achieved by each country. – EU Commission
Commenting on the enlargement plans and on the progress in the implementation of fundamental reforms, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that this is a vital policy for the bloc.
She further stressed that the enlargement of the EU is a win-win situation for both the countries and the EU.
Enlargement is a vital policy for the European Union. Completing our Union is the call of history, the natural horizon of our Union. Completing our Union also has a strong economic and geopolitical logic. Past enlargements have shown enormous benefits both for the accession countries and the EU. We all win. – Ursula von der Leyen
In addition to the above-mentioned, the Commission also proposed opening EU membership negotiations for Ukraine and Moldova.
According to a report published by the Commission, Ukraine has met all the requirements that have been set in order for it to access the EU.
Moldova also received a positive response, with the Commission pointing out that the country has improved in some fields such as in the field of justice and public administration.
