European Commission Demands Candidate Countries Provide Stronger Human Rights Protections
October 14, 2022—The European Commission gave the green light to Bosnia and Herzegovina on its candidacy to join the 27-member European Union. The decision, which comes with stipulations, moves to the European Council.
EU leaders are aspiring to expand their bloc as a way to spread their perspective on the world stage. Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi called the enlargement policy a “geostrategic investment” in the continent’s peace and stability.
Candidates for the EU Line Up
Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia are the latest countries to request membership. The bloc already has many countries waiting to get in, including Turkey, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, and Kosovo.
“The Western Balkans are part of the European family and remain a priority for us,” Várhelyi said. It is in the EU’s strategic interest and essential to their own stability and prosperity that all Western Balkan Six get into the EU as fast as possible.”
–Remarks by Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi on Oct. 12, 2022
Human Rights Concerns In The Balkans
This week, the European Commission moved Bosnia and Herzegovinia forward. However, the candidacy is contingent on that country making several changes to its judicial laws. The EU is also calling on Bosnian leaders to crack down on corruption and organized crime, make torture illegal, manage its borders and migration, protect journalists from threats of violence, and guarantee freedom of expression. Furthermore, European leaders called on Bosnia and Herzegovina to “urgently finalize” electoral and constitutional reforms
Europe has been investing in Western Balkans for some time and courting the countries for potential membership. However, human rights problems there continue to arise. The UN Human Rights Office cited concerns in both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia about hate speech, nationalism, political violence, denials of genocide, and glorification of atrocity crimes and war criminals.
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