STORY: Bosnia and Herzegovina on path to EU accession: European Commission chief
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 23, 2024
DATELINE: Jan. 25, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:11
LOCATION: Sarajevo
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the press conference attended by Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, in Sarajevo on Jan. 23, 2024
2. SOUNDBITE (English): URSULA VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission

STORYLINE:
Bosnia and Herzegovina is on the EU path, said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, in Sarajevo on Monday.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has been demonstrating its commitment to join the EU, said the European Commission chief at the press conference, after meeting with top political representatives in the BiH capital.

Everyone agrees to see Bosnia and Herzegovina as a united, indivisible, and sovereign state, within the EU, said von der Leyen.

The EU decided to open accession negotiations with BiH as soon as the agreed conditions are met, but it is necessary to see additional progress, especially in democracy and the rule of law, said von der Leyen.

SOUNDBITE (English): URSULA VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission
"Today we have discussed with different authorities the next steps to take. There is more work to be done. We need to see progress, especially, and this means adopted laws on the fundamentals of the EU accession that is democracy and the rule of law. It starts with a fight against money laundering, the conflict of interest, and for example, the law on courts."

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic also arrived in Sarajevo with von der Leyen.

As previously announced, the visit is aimed at encouraging the BiH leadership to take additional steps towards opening the accession negotiations in March this year.

The EU anticipates that BiH will meet the 14 priorities set for it in order to open negotiations with the EU.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Sarajevo.
(XHTV)