Twenty-five years after the Dayton Peace Agreement, it is clear that the time has come for Bosnia and Herzegovina to move on, European Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said on Thursday, addressing the international conference on Bosnia's Euro-Atlantic journey. He said that Bosnia will, like other EU candidate countries did in the past, also have to amend its Constitution on this path.

“By applying for the membership in the European Union in 2016, Bosnia and Herzegovina made a historic step, but also asked to be considered seriously as a future Member State. The 14 key priorities from the Commission Opinion adopted in May 2019 provide a clear roadmap of reforms, encompassing democracy and functionality, the rule of law, fundamental rights, and public administration reform,” said the Commissioner, stressing that political leaders must put “all efforts in the work to deliver on these key priorities if they want to move towards candidate status and the opening of EU accession negotiations.”

He recalled of recently reached progress that refers to the electoral process in the city of Mostar, whose citizens elected a new mayor for the first time since 2008.

“This is a first clear deliverable on the 14 key priorities. It should be the starting point to address all outstanding deep reforms ahead of the 2022 elections, including issues of constitutional reform. As other EU candidate countries before it, Bosnia and Herzegovina will need to amend its Constitution to comply with the requirements of EU membership. This means ensuring equal representation to all in the country. It also means ensuring the functionality of state institutions, so that they are able to effectively participate in EU decision-making and to fully implement and enforce the EU acquis,” said Varhelyi.

The Commissioner also said the changes were necessary to ensure that Bosnia's institutional framework fits the European standards, stressing that the country is not alone in this and that the EU will continue to facilitate and contribute to these discussions towards this goal.

Commissioner's full address at the conference held in Bosnia's coastal town Neum is available here.