ZAGREB, 23 June 2022- Croatian President Zoran Milanović on Thursday again urged the European Union to grant membership candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

EU leaders are meeting in Brussels on Thursday for a two-day summit to decide on the membership candidate status for Ukraine and Moldova, for which there is widespread support.

Milanović on Thursday requested the same status for Bosnia and Herzegovina. He has Slovenian President Borut Pahor's strong support for this, and Austria has also joined the initiative.

"We have heard from all member states that Ukraine will get the candidate status, which is fine, but Ukraine, just like Moldova, has some huge problems," Milanović said.

"This is an opportunity to grant Bosnia and Herzegovina the candidate status, as an act of confidence and hope," the Croatian president said, adding that he could not see how anyone could be against it.

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ZAGREB, 23 June 2022- Germany wants the Western Balkan countries to be given a realistic opportunity to join the European Union, Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the press in Brussels on Thursday ahead of a meeting of EU and Western Balkan leaders. 

"The citizens in the Western Balkans have been waiting for almost 20 years for the opportunity to become members of the European Union. It is of utmost importance that this becomes a credible promise because the many efforts that these countries have undertaken must in the end actually lead to their admission," Scholz said.

The EU leaders are meeting their Western Balkan counterparts before their regular summit, which is expected to adopt a historic decision to grant membership candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova.

The EU leaders are expected to again express their full and unequivocal commitment to membership prospects for the  Western Balkan countries and call on them to speed up the accession process. 

Three EU member states have asked that Bosnia and Herzegovina also be granted candidate status, but there is no consensus on the matter, according to a high-level EU official knowledgeable about the preparation of the summit.

Croatia supports membership candidate status for Bosnia and Herzegovina and demands that the country's electoral law be amended to ensure equality for the Croats as the least numerous of the three constituent peoples.

One of the toughest issues facing the summit is efforts to remove Bulgaria's blockade of the opening of accession talks with North Macedonia. The Bulgarian government received a vote of no confidence on Wednesday, and there are indications that Sofia is willing to remove the blockade based on a French proposal. However, the question is whether North Macedonia will agree to it.

The French EU presidency has proposed a negotiating framework for North Macedonia that includes some of the Bulgarian demands.

Bulgaria has set as a condition for the removal of the blockade that the negotiating framework include issues relating to the common history, language and national identity of Bulgaria and North Macedonia.

Edi Rama, the Prime Minister of Albania, which is included in the same package as North Macedonia, said that it was a shame that NATO member Bulgaria should block two other NATO members, Albania and North Macedonia, in the middle of "a hot war in Europe's backyard" as 26 other EU member states displayed "frightening impotence".

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić commented on Croatia's remarks that Serbia could no longer sit in two chairs at the same time.

"Serbia is sitting in its own chair, and it is not the Croatian prime minister and president who will lead Serbian politics, but the citizens of Serbia through their leadership," Vučić said.

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ZAGREB, 1 June 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said at a European People's Party (EPP) congress Wednesday that the EPP should be the leading political force in condemning and imposing sanctions against Russia and that Ukraine deserved European Union candidate status.

Speaking at the 27th EPP Congress in Rotterdam, Plenković said that the Russian aggression, which has lasted for more than three months, was not just military, but that it violated international law and denied the Ukrainian nation and identity.

"We, as the EPP, express our solidarity, support and sympathy for the Ukrainian people, who are fighting for freedom and for European values for all of us. We thank them for that", the Croatian prime minister said.

Plenković thinks that the EPP should be the leading political force in condemning Russian actions, imposing sanctions, and not tolerating policies that violate everything we stand for.

He called for continuing political, diplomatic, financial, economic, humanitarian and military support for Ukraine.

Ukraine deserves EU candidate status

Plenković considers that Ukraine deserves candidate status in the European Union, which it might gain soon.

"We will support granting Ukraine EU candidate status at the European Council in June. The Ukrainians are expecting that, the Ukrainians deserve that and that symbolic gesture by the EU will be another correct and moral choice in this unprecedented crisis", he underscored.

He reiterated that Croatia supported the European aspirations of other countries, mentioning Georgia, Moldova, Kosovo and neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"We'd like for the issue of constitutional and electoral reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina to be resolved in that process in order for all three constituent peoples to be treated equally and to feel satisfied and at ease", Plenković said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the European People's Party adopted a resolution calling for electoral and constitutional reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina in line with decisions by international courts and the BiH Constitutional Court.

The "emergency resolution", tabled by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) calls for "electoral reforms to be addressed swiftly in an inclusive manner while complying with the requirements of EU membership."

Strengthening European defence

The prime minister called on his colleagues from the largest group in the European Parliament to make the EPP a leader in demographic revitalisation, the digital revolution and in the fight against climate change by the 2024 European election. He also called for strengthening European defence.

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ZAGREB, 25 May 2022 - Due to the war in Ukraine, Western Balkan countries seek accelerated EU accession, but Brussels officials say there is no political will among the 27 member states for their accession and that their entering too quickly makes no sense.

At an Adriatic-Ionian region forum held in Tirana last week, ten countries signed a declaration calling on the EU to step up the journey of the Western Balkan countries as their accession would be an investment in a stable, strong and united Europe.

EU enlargement is a policy which has always exported peace and stability to all countries where it happened, Bosnian Deputy Foreign Minister Josip Brkić said, adding that the Russian aggression on Ukraine will show how important it is for the enlargement to include Southeast Europe.

Bosnia and Herzegovina applied for membership more than six years ago and hopes to get candidate status by 30 June. Brkić said candidate status was a political decision.

North Macedonia and Albania, which are candidates, hoped accession negotiations would be opened in March 2020, but Bulgaria blocked them due to a historical and language dispute with North Macedonia.

The EU grouped the two countries together in their membership applications, so now Albania cannot proceed either. Its Deputy Prime Minister Arben Amedaj said at the forum that such obstacles made no sense.

Montenegro has opened all negotiation chapters. Its Foreign Minister Jovana Marović said those relating to the environment and the rule of law were the most challenging.

Serbia has not imposed sanctions on Russia but did adopt the joint declaration in Tirana, although its first article says that the invasion of Ukraine is an illegal and unjustified aggression.

In order to equate its stands with those of the member states and accession candidates, Serbia stated its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

According to speculation on the fringes of the forum, Western Balkan countries and Ukraine might join the EU together in 2027, but a Commission official working with the candidate states dismissed this option.

Entering too soon makes no sense. The countries would not be prepared to draw money from the funds as they first have to set up the necessary structure, he said on the condition of anonymity.

But the problem is first and foremost political. The fundamental EU treaties would have to be changed for this many countries to enter at once, and some member states are opposed to that, he added.

Last week in Sarajevo, European Council President Charles Michel mentioned the idea of a European geopolitical community. Non-member states would be gradually included in certain sectors together with the member states after meeting the criteria, without waiting for full membership.

The idea of a European political community was mentioned earlier by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Bosnian Deputy Foreign Minister Brkić said that for all Southeast European countries, the only guarantee of stability and political and economic prosperity was full membership, "as pledged 19 years ago in Thessaloniki."

Western Balkan countries cooperate with EU member states in the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region and the Strategy for the Danube Region, which includes Ukraine and Moldova.

Croatian Foreign Ministry state secretary Andreja Metelko-Zgombić said it was important to make progress when the criteria had been met. "We believe that Albania and North Macedonia deserve to open the negotiations as soon as possible."

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ZAGREB, 17 March 2022 - Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman said on Thursday that Bosnia and Herzegovina's Euro-Atlantic integration is in the national interest of Croatia and that it cannot be achieved without the equality of Croats in that country.

"On the international scene, Croatia is the biggest and sincere advocate of Euro-Atlantic associations. That is our clear national interest. That won't be possible without resolving the legitimate and legal demands of Croats" in BiH,  Grlić Radman said at a conference in Neum in an online message in reference to reforms in BiH. 

The fifth conference "Untying the knots - BiH on the path to EU and NATO membership" was organised by Mostar University, the Croatian Academy of Science and Arts in BiH and Croatian universities, with the participation of scientists, politicians and foreign diplomats.

Grlić Radman explained that the Croatian side in BiH has been the most constructive about reaching an agreement on amendments to the election law, providing proposals of how that can be done.

Negotiations on election reforms are continuing in Sarajevo today with the mediation of the USA and EU.

Grlić Radman said that BiH "hasn't resolved the problem of the political disenfranchisement of Croats or stability and institutional functioning in BiH."

According to Grlić Radman, the reason for that is two dominant conflicting politics in BiH, separatism and unitarism.

"It is difficult to say which is more detrimental to the Croat people. Both politics directly demolish the historical and constitutional foundations of BiH as a joint state of three equally constituent peoples and citizens. Without respect of those principles, the knot in BiH will not be untied for it to be a functional and stable country on the path to the EU and NATO," added Grlić Radman.

The president of the Croatian National Assembly of BiH, Dragan Čović, said that BiH has to preserve its multi-national nature and that local politicians have to see the Ukraine crisis as an opportunity.

US Ambassador to BiH Michael Murphy called on political leaders in BiH to reach a compromise so the country can come closer to the European Union.

A new geopolitical moment has emerged in the European Union and the Western Balkans. It's up to leaders to use this opportunity. BiH leaders have the opportunity to move faster to the EU based on compromise and reconciliation, said Murphy.

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ZAGREB, 1 March 2022 - Croatian President Zoran Milanović has supported Ukraine's EU membership application and recommended granting membership candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo and opening accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia, the President's Office said on Tuesday.

"President Milanović believes that Ukraine should be granted EU membership candidate status as soon as possible," a statement said.

Milanović thus supported the initiative by eight European Union member states that had called for Ukraine to be granted candidate status.

"Ukraine is being subjected to aggression by the Russian Federation and we all need to provide it with the necessary assistance, just as we would have expected assistance in a similar situation," the Croatian president said.

"Croatia is not forgetting that Ukraine was among the first internationally recognised countries to recognise Croatia and was among the first to come to our aid," he added.

Milanović said that the fast-track integration of Ukraine into the European Union was one of the ways to stop the war and prevent it from spreading in Europe.

On Monday, the presidents of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia said in an open letter that Ukraine "deserves receiving an immediate EU accession perspective."

"We call on the member states to consolidate the strongest political support for Ukraine and to allow the EU institutions to take steps to immediately grant Ukraine candidate status and open the negotiation process," the letter said.

Support for Western Balkan countries, Serbia should decide

Milanović said that everything should be done to prevent the Ukraine crisis from spilling over to the Western Balkans and affecting Croatia and its neighbours.

He said it was in Croatia's strategic and national interests for the Western Balkan countries which had demonstrated their readiness and intent to join the Union. 

Milanović proposed to the signatories of the open letter to also demand membership candidate status for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo and recommended immediately opening accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania, which already have candidate status.

The Croatian president also said that talks with Montenegro should be stepped up, while Serbia, "at this critical moment for peace in Europe, should decide whether it really wants membership or not and conduct its policy accordingly. The EU must let it know that this is a moment of decision."