(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 16 - Almost seven years after submitting a formal application for EU membership, Bosnia and Herzegovina finally received the unanimous support of 27 EU heads of state and government to join the bloc. But now the Western Balkan country of 3.3 million people must deliver reforms.
    CLEAR MESSAGE.
    After years of standstill, Russia's war on Ukraine has breathed fresh life into the EU's willingness to consider welcoming more of its eastern neighbors to its ranks. The Member States agreed on December 15 to grant Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) "candidate status" to join the union, putting the volatile Balkan nation at the start of a long road to membership. A recommendation to this effect was made by the European ministers of the EU states in Brussels on Tuesday. One of the reasons for this move are concerns that the country, which has a population of around 3.3 million, could otherwise increasingly orient itself towards Russia or China.
    In the wake of the decisions to grant candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova in June 2022, EU member states such as Austria and Slovenia in particular had urged the EU to also grant candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The fact that BiH was once again ignored in this process caused great disappointment in the country. It was offered the prospect of EU accession as early as 2003, and in 2016 officially submitted an application for membership.
    European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi said that the Council's decision was sending a very clear message to the citizens of BiH that the EU stands by the country. He added that it was now necessary for BiH to show its readiness to fulfill the conditions set earlier, "Europe delivers and now we want to see Bosnia and Herzegovina deliver as well." The conditions mentioned by Commissioner Várhelyi are 14 key reforms that the European Commission put before BiH back in May 2019. They concern reforms in several areas, including democracy, the rule of law and public administration.
    Political commentators in Bosnia and Herzegovina believe that the EU should have granted Bosnia and Herzegovina candidate status at the same time as the majority of other countries in the Western Balkans. This could have helped to facilitate the resolution of numerous internal problems in the country. For example, the government of the Republika Srpska entity maintains close economic and political ties with Moscow, and the absence of candidate status for EU membership only favored the growth of Russian influence.
    EU CANDIDATE STATUS FOR BIH BENEFITS BOTH PARTIES.
    Ahead of the vote at an EU summit on December 15, Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš said the decision was "mutually beneficial to both the Western Balkans and the European Union as a whole." "The European Union has a geopolitical interest in the Balkans," he added.
    EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said on the sidelines of the EU summit, "It is a good occasion for the leadership of Bosnia and Herzegovina to push for the reforms. This is the occasion for the country to really embark on the European path. It's a very important step for Bosnia Herzegovina and for the whole region." Due to the ongoing political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina, little has been done so far to implement the set conditions. All public opinion surveys show that membership in the EU is one of the rare goals strongly supported by all three nationalities and throughout BiH. All the parliamentary parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina that are participating in the negotiations on forming a government after the elections in October have put the continuation of the European path high on their list of priorities, regardless of the fact that no one knows how long the journey will take.
    (continues) This article was produced with contributions from AFP, dpa, FENA and STA as part of the European Newsroom (enr) project (ANSA).