Expert: Bosnia and Herzegovina's EU Membership Not Expected Any Time Soon
Benjamin Plevjak, an expert at a Sarajevo-based think tank, says Bosnia and Herzegovina is unlikely to join the EU in his lifetime. He points to a lack of shared vision for the country and politicians' reluctance to carry out reforms.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is unlikely to join the European Union (EU) in the near future, according to Benjamin Plevjak, an expert at the Sarajevo-based think tank Centre for Security Studies. He gave the assessment to the Latvian news portal Delfi in September, when asked about the Balkan country's prospects of joining the EU or NATO, the North Atlantic military alliance.
"Honestly, most likely not in my lifetime. Perhaps my son will be able to enjoy the benefits of both the EU and NATO," the expert said.
The road to the EU
Bosnia and Herzegovina applied for EU membership in 2016 but received candidate status only in 2022. Even so, the country appears to remain far from becoming a member state.
Latvian journalists, including representatives of Delfi, visited Bosnia and Herzegovina at the end of September, travelling to the capital Sarajevo and to Banja Luka, the centre of Republika Srpska.
No shared understanding
Plevjak sees the biggest problem as the lack of a common understanding of what the country wants to be. In his view, a shared internal denominator must be found: whether it is integration into the EU, into NATO, or both. At present, he sees prospects only for EU integration.
He also stressed that very little is currently being done for integration and that everything remains "at a declarative level". According to the expert, politicians do not want to carry out reforms in society because that would mean losing control and power.
The expert's assessment suggests that Bosnia and Herzegovina's path to the EU remains long, despite an application filed nearly a decade ago and candidate status.
