DPC Advance Preview of the 2015 EC Progress Report for Bosnia and Herzegovina

DPC Policy Note New Series #11 By Patrick Dick

Introduction

Later this month, the European Commission is scheduled to publish its 2015 Progress Report for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), a document that purports to be the EU’s annual manifesto of priorities for the country.

Like its predecessors of the last five years, however, the report will come up short. Its content will continue to be driven by inertia, though attempts by the Commission to inflate any signs of progress are a common feature that can be expected as well. There is some indication that turnover within the Commission following the 2014 European elections may open up some institutional space for a more frank reckoning with the lack of progress in the country, which has been mired in political stagnation for nearly a decade. However, there is also a risk that institutional commitment to the still vague “Reform Agenda” will limit this slender opportunity.

The interaction of these forces is complex. On what to expect from this year’s report –

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