Bosnia and Herzegovina is, after Kosovo, the poorest state in Europe, according to a study carried out by Global Finance in 2017.

The fact remains that the economic situation is close to becoming dire. Agriculture is still largely extensive, with few machines and is a hotbed for employment. Bosnia is still a rural country where agriculture makes up 7% of its GDP – compared to a European average of 3%. On the winding, mountainous roads of the “Republika Srpska”, it is not uncommon to come across cows on the roads and rubbish along the riverbanks. The scope of the challenges that await Bosnia and Herzegovina in the coming decades can be understood without even straying too far from the centre. Moreover, tourism is virtually the only sector with steady growth, the number of overnight stays skyrocketing. Although the tiny Bosnian capital – 300,000 inhabitants – gives the impression of a western city with its shopping centres, boutiques, and luxury hotels, these are primarily aimed at the many tourists coming from the Gulf States. Sarajevo is a two hour flight from Paris, yet time seems to have stopped long ago in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Often diverted, the large amounts of financial aid have not improved the lives of the majority of Bosnians who remain prisoners of a political system in which the elite strive to resist any change. Sarajevo remains exhausted from a conflict which plunged it into political, social and economic stagnation that is continually deteriorating, despite the numerous consequent funds granted – 2.4 billion since 1995 by the US, the International Community, and the European Union. But what of Albania and, in particular, Bosnia and Herzegovina? It seems unlikely for the two states not to join at the same time. On this occasion, Andrej Zorko, rapporteur for the committee’s opinion, reaffirmed that “EU membership for the Western Balkans remains one of the EU’s priorities.” While the admission of Montenegro into the EU seems fixed in the near future, Serbian membership remains somewhat less realistic, and undoubtedly linked to the question of Kosovo.

On 19 th April last year, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted a new strategy to re-launch the Western Balkans’ integration policy. TRANSLATED BY GENEVIEVE SILK AND PROOFREAD BY JOYCE CHEN

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