SARAJEVO (Bosnia and Herzegovina), June 24 (SeeNews) – The UK's decision to exit the European Union will embolden Bosnia's many Eurosceptics for whom integration into the bloc would mean the loss of political privileges, a Banja Luka-based political analyst told SeeNews on Friday.
Bosnia's best bet is to focus on itself, on reforms which will bring it closer to achieving the current European values, because membership in the EU comes down to a country's ability to achieve political, economic and social development, Milos Solaja said in response to a SeeNews inquiry.
In a changing Europe, the Union's values will remain entrenched in the fundamentals of member states, at least for a little while longer, Solaja noted.
Political analyst Srdjan Puhalo agreed that the current situation will represent a win for local politicians who are against EU membership.
"Realistically, the EU hasn't for a while been a desirable bride and that sort of Euroscepticism is readily exploited by local politicians, especially in the top half of the country," Puhalo explained.
He added that although Bosnia's leaders vocally pledge their support for EU accession, their actions do not mirror their words. "Currently Bosnia stands in a gap between the EU and nothing."
On the other hand, Bosnia may also face hardship if the EU tightens conditions for the admission of new member states, Solaja explained.
Following UK's exit, each member state will review its membership and its position in the EU, which will give rise to new EU policies and in turn entry conditions, he said.
"The policies won't be only about economic relations, but also security issues, international order and a number of other problems that will be encountered along the way," Solaja added.
Bosnia submitted an EU membership application in February. At the time Bosnia's presidency chairman, Dragan Covic, said he hoped that Bosnia would be given the status of a candidate country in 2017. However, the country's failure to process the results of a census held in 2013 is putting its EU goals in jeopardy.