Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union

European Union Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , like all states of what the EU calls the “Western Balkans”, has a European perspective, that is, the prospect of one dayjoiningthe European Union . Since the European Council of Santa Maria da Feira in June 2000,Bosnia and Herzegovina has beenconsidered a “ potential candidate for membership ”. On February 15, 2016, the country submitted its application to join the EU.

To stabilize Bosnia and Herzegovina, the European Union has been sending the military mission Operation Althea since 2004 . The EU police mission EUPM also existed from 2003 to 2012 .

Stabilization and Association Process

Bosnia and Herzegovina has been involved in the Stabilization and Association Process since November 2000. It serves to gradually bring all states in the region closer to the European Union. Since 2006, the EU has been discussing the status of reforms in the country on a regular basis within the framework of Reform Process Monitoring (RPM) .

The Stabilization and Association Agreement between the EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina was signed on June 16, 2008 after three years of negotiations. It must be ratified by all signatory states and the European Union before it can come into force. An interim agreement came into force on July 1, 2008. It mainly contains provisions of commercial law.

The EU supports the pre-accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina through an EU special envoy . The office has been held by the Austrian Valentin Inzko since March 26, 2009 . He is also the High Representative of the international community .

On October 25, 2010, the Council of the European Union reaffirmed the EU's commitment to the European perspective of Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the same time, the Council declared itself "unequivocally for the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a sovereign and united country."

Besides Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina was the only country in the Western Balkans that had not yet applied for EU membership. The Council of the European Union emphasized in December 2009 that "it will not be able to examine an application for membership from Bosnia and Herzegovina until a decision has been taken on a transition from the OHR to an increased EU presence."

State of reform

The European partnership sets short and medium-term reform priorities. The last European partnership between the EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina was adopted in February 2008 under the Slovenian EU Council Presidency .

In its conclusions of December 2009, the Council of the European Union “remained concerned about the development of the political situation and called on Bosnia and Herzegovina to accelerate the major reforms without delay. A prerequisite for further progress is that the political decision-makers have the same ideas about the common future of the country and that there is the political will to meet the requirements of European integration. "

In its annual progress reports, the European Commission goes into detail on the state of reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The last progress report from November 2010 gave Bosnia and Herzegovina a rather critical reform certificate. He criticized the slow progress and called on the country to press ahead with reforms in key areas.

In December 2009, the Council of the European Union stated in particular that Bosnia and Herzegovina “[must] tackle a constitutional amendment in order to create a functioning state and align its constitutional framework with the European Convention on Human Rights. In particular, the country must be able to adopt, implement and enforce EU legislation . These reforms would contribute to the country's further EU integration. "

On October 25, 2010, the Council of the European Union emphasized in its conclusions on Bosnia and Herzegovina:

“Fifteen years after the Dayton / Paris Peace Agreement was signed , the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina deserve qualitative progress on the way to European integration. Political leaders now need to enter into a constructive political dialogue and form new governments that put the EU agenda at the center of their programs. The political leaders bear the main responsibility for ensuring that concrete and tangible progress - including in integration into the EU - is achieved through a willingness to compromise and a joint constructive approach; they must abstain from rhetoric that divides the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina and must not do anything that harms their interests. Bosnia and Herzegovina has already shown that it can meet commitments when the political will is there. The EU stands ready to offer its support for the reforms so urgently needed, including through an increased presence in the future. Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot afford to lose any more time. "

The President of the Bosnian State Presidium, Dragan Čović , officially submitted the application for membership in the European Union on February 15, 2016.

Financial support

Under the EU Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA), Bosnia and Herzegovina is to receive around 488 million euros to support EU pre-accession for the years 2008 to 2012 . In 2010, IPA funds of 105.4 million euros are earmarked for Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, the EU finance ministers decided that Bosnia and Herzegovina should receive EU macro-financial assistance of EUR 100 million in 2010 . Macro-financial assistance is linked to ongoing support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Visa exemption

On January 1, 2008, a visa facilitation agreement and a readmission agreement between the European Union and Bosnia and Herzegovina came into force. Since May 2008, the European Union has been negotiating with the country about the visa waiver .

The European Commission has certified Bosnia and Herzegovina in September 2010 that it now fulfills all the conditions for visa exemption and the exemption from the visa requirement proposed. It applies to tourist stays in the Schengen area of up to 90 days per half-year. Taking up gainful employment is not permitted. Only Bosnian-Herzegovinian nationals who have a biometric passport should be able to travel without a visa.

The European Parliament approved the Commission's recommendation on October 7, 2010. The final decision was taken on November 8, 2010 by the European Foreign Ministers, which has exempted the state from the visa requirement since December 15, 2010.

literature

• Dominik Tolksdorf: The EU and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Foreign policy in search of coherence (= Munich contributions to European unification , Volume 23), Nomos, Baden-Baden 2012, ISBN 978-3-8329-7408-4 (Abridged and updated version of the dissertation University of Munich 2010, 379 pages).

Web links

• European Commission, Directorate-General for Enlargement: Bosnia and Herzegovina
• 2009 progress report of the European Commission on Bosnia and Herzegovina (PDF; 339 kB)
• Financial support from the EU for Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Memento from August 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento from December 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento from December 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
3. ↑ 2008/211 / EC: Council decision of February 18, 2008 on the principles, priorities and conditions of the European partnership with Bosnia and Herzegovina and repealing decision 2006/55 / ​​EC
4. ↑ http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/key_documents/2010/package/ba_rapport_2010_en.pdf
5. ↑ http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/117367.pdf
6. ↑ Bosnia-Herzegovina is knocking on the EU door. Deutsche Welle , February 15, 2016, accessed February 15, 2016 . 
7. ↑ Visa Agreement ( memo of December 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
8. ↑ dpa / omi: European Union: EU lifts visa requirements for Albanians and Bosnians. In: welt.de . November 8, 2010, accessed October 7, 2018 .