European Commission agrees to hold membership talks with Bosnia News
European Commission agrees to hold membership talks with Bosnia

[JURIST] The European Commission [official website] agreed Friday to negotiate with Bosnia [JURIST news archive] to form a cooperation agreement that may result in the country's full membership to the European Union. The commission said that in order for talks to move forward, Bosnia should improve relations with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [official website], adopt public broadcasting laws, and implement reforms to stop ethnic division in the police force. An agreement with Bosnia will open up economic ties and free trade between the EU and Bosnia and will bring the country's laws more in line with EU standards. Similar arrangements have been signed by the EU for Croatia and Macedonia, and are currently under negotiation for Serbia-Montenegro and Albania. The decision to negotiate with Bosnia still must be approved by the 25 current EU member states. The EU has Bosnian enlargement background materials. AP has more.