(dpa) - Bosnia-Herzegovina should sign a key deal with the European Union within weeks and become a candidate for full membership by spring 2009, the country's leaders said on a visit to Brussels on Thursday.
"I think that full candidate status could happen within a year of signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA), but it is important to see the will in the EU and Brussels," Haris Silajdzic, the Bosnian member of the country's presidency, said.
Bosnia-Herzegovina should be in a position to sign the SAA in April, assuming that a crucial reform to its police service is carried through, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said, adding that he was "confident" that an April signature was realistic.
The EU has long said that every state of the Western Balkans has a future in the union. Bosnia's most recent step on the path towards the EU was to initial the SAA, which sets up cooperation on issues including trade and legal reform, in December.
However, while the signature of the SAA would mark a key step on the road, officials on both sides admitted that Bosnia would have to bring in far deeper reforms in order to qualify as a full EU candidate.
"We expect to sign the SAA in April, but after that there are a number of things to do to get candidate status. Time limits should not be mentioned, but we should be dedicated to getting there as soon as possible," Bosnian Prime Minister Nikola Spiric said.
Countries which become EU candidates have to bring their laws in line with EU rules and prepare their economies for full integration into the European market.
Of the states of the former Yugoslavia, Slovenia joined the EU in 2004, Croatia is expected to join soon, Macedonia became a candidate member in December 2005 and Montenegro signed an SAA in October.
Serbia initialled an SAA on November 7, but is now in dispute with the EU over the status of Kosovo and has frozen the integration process.
