Bosnia and Herzegovina: start of an EU summit in Tirana on the Western Balkans

The venues for the EU summit on the Western Balkans, in Tirana, Albania, this Monday, December 5, 2022, the day before the start of the event.

AP - Andreea Alexandru

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

A summit of the European Union and the Western Balkans is taking place this Tuesday, December 6 in Tirana.

In the context of the war in Ukraine, this summit is an opportunity for Europeans to reaffirm their commitment to the region.

Bosnia and Herzegovina could obtain candidate status.

A prospect that the inhabitants of Sarajevo welcome rather favorably.

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With our correspondent in Sarajevo,

Nearly seven years after submitting its candidacy, Bosnia and Herzegovina could finally be granted the status of candidate to the European Union.

A young student from Sarajevo, Eldar sees this as a rather positive signal.

It's something good.

I think it can advance a lot of things here.

We must improve the functioning of our institutions, such as the presidency, this is the biggest problem of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Last year, political tensions raised fears of a return to communal violence, 27 years after the end of the war.

In a difficult economic context, the European perspective gives hope to Marko, a 37-year-old worker.

It will improve things, and especially the economy.

And like that, people will start to think more positively.

Today, we just say to ourselves: “May what happened to us 30 years ago not happen again”.

When a man works, he doesn't think stupid things, but when he does nothing and there is political manipulation, anything can happen.

In recent months, the leader of the Bosnian Serbs has reaffirmed his support for Vladimir Putin.

For political scientist Ivana Maric, the European Union seeks above all to counter the Kremlin's agenda.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has not fulfilled any of the conditions set by the European Union.

This candidate status is only because Europe wants to prevent Russia from extending its influence in the country.

If the European Commission has already given the green light for this candidate status, the last word will go to the 27 Member States.

►Listen again: Headlines: What can the Western Balkans expect from the new European Political Community?

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• Bosnia and Herzegovina

• European Union

• Albania