The following article written by the Commissioner for the European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, was published in Glas Srpske and Vecernji list newspapers and on the klix.ba portal on 8 May 2015.

On 21 April 2015, the European Union took the historic decision to bring the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Bosnia and Herzegovina into force. This was a defining moment for relations between the EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as with this agreement in place, Bosnia and Herzegovina is firmly set on its EU accession path. The Stabilisation and Association Agreement will benefit the citizens of this country through better quality, healthier and safer goods. It will increase the confidence of investors, domestic and international. It will also allow Bosnian companies to access the EU’s internal market of some 500 million consumers, provide their services across the EU and compete for public contracts; and overall it will contribute to increased job opportunities in your country. 

At the same time, there should be no misunderstanding as to what this new momentum brings for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s leaders and institutions: it brings the responsibility to deliver, in particular, on the reforms needed to make the country fit for its future and to meet the legitimate needs of its citizens as expressed during the protests in February 2014.

Action is needed to especially address youth unemployment which is the highest in Europe; to create a single economic space; to improve conditions for doing business and investments in order to create new jobs.
The need for better coordinated policies and measures derives from the responsibility of political and institutional leaders at all levels of government to work together so that Bosnia and Herzegovina can prosper and attract investments, including financial support in the framework of the EU accession process.

I am in Sarajevo today to engage with the country’s leaders to discuss the next steps on the EU accession path. The focus will be on an initial reform agenda which would cover key socio-economic issues as spelled out in the Compact for Growth and Jobs, to tackle rule of law and governance challenges and to address functional weaknesses, including through the setting up of the coordination mechanism on EU matters.

A written commitment prepared and signed by the country’s political leaders and endorsed by the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina to undertake the necessary reforms towards EU accession was signed last February. Beyond this being a commitment to the EU, this is foremost a commitment made to the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. During my visit I will urge all interlocutors to deliver on their words and transform them into concrete deeds.

The EU accession path is, for any EU aspiring country, a unique opportunity to modernize the country and to improve peoples’ lives. The EU, and I personally, as Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, will spare no effort in supporting Bosnia and Herzegovina to advance on this path.