The 'wind of change is once again blowing through Europe and we have to capture this momentum,' she said. The commission will help all candidate countries in their accession bids, von der Leyen said, stating that 'I think that is Europe's moment and it is up to us to seize that moment'. Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told EU ambassadors: 'Today we have proposed to grant candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina.' But she added: 'Of course it is up to the candidate countries to reform their economies and their institutions and to advance towards our union.' The commission said Bosnia needed to make progress on 'democracy, functionality of state institutions, rule of law, the fight against corruption and organised crime' as well as guaranteeing media freedom and migration management. It can also grind to a halt, which is the case with Turkey's bid. The process to join the European Union can take many years as candidates implement reforms that have to be rigorously evaluated by Brussels. If the EU, which currently comprises 27 member countries, adopts the recommendation, Bosnia would join seven other nations with candidate status: Turkey, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine.

'The Commission recommends that candidate status be granted to Bosnia and Herzegovina by the (European) Council on the understanding that a number of steps are taken,' commissioner for enlargement Oliver Varhelyi tweeted after making the announcement to EU lawmakers. The European Commission on Wednesday said it was recommending that EU countries give Bosnia candidacy status to join the bloc.

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