Bosnia and Herzegovina will certainly get the status of a candidate country and eventually become a member state of the European Union, but citizens must defeat retrograde forces on that path who are “hypocritically” accusing the EU today while they did everything for BiH not to get the candidate status, foreign minister Bisera Turkovic said on Thursday following the European Council session, which among other things discussed Bosnia's EU path.

“European Union did not close door to the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but there is no room in the country for the policy and politicians who block the state, who threaten with secessionism, who support and justify aggression, who wallowed in corruption and genocide denial, and who condition the interest of all of us with the accomplishment of their own interests,” Turkovic said.

She stressed that Bosnia was not granted the candidate status at the European Council’s session not because the EU does not want that but because “certain politicl parties who are part of the state authorities have been blocking and obstructing for years the meeting of conditions for the candidate status.”

Turkovic assessed that Bosnia, nevertheless, got a strong support of many European leaders.

“This is not a rejection of Bosnia and Herzegovina, this is a signal that we need to be organized better and work harder. Nothing was given as a gift. Everything needs to be earned. Ukraine fought for candidate status with the determination of its citizens to fight and win, and with the clearly recognized goal of its political leaders,” Turkovic underlined.

As for the efforts of the Bosnian leaders, she said it is easy to recognize those who were “obstructing and setting conditions.”

“The serious work is ahead of us. If we are committed to serious work, the goal is achievable,” she added.

European Council is ready to grant the status of candidate country to Bosnia and Herzegovina once a substantial set of reforms has been delivered, says one of the conclusions from Thursday’s Council session that granted Ukraine and Moldova candidate status.