Bosnia and Herzegovina on path to EU accession: European Commission chief

SARAJEVO, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Bosnia and Herzegovina is on the EU path, said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, in Sarajevo on Monday.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has been demonstrating its commitment to join the EU, said the European Commission chief at the press conference, after meeting with top political representatives in the BiH capital.

Everyone agrees to see Bosnia and Herzegovina as a united, indivisible, and sovereign state, within the EU, said von der Leyen.

The EU decided to open accession negotiations with BiH as soon as the agreed conditions are met, but it is necessary to see additional progress, especially in democracy and the rule of law, said von der Leyen.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic also arrived in Sarajevo with von der Leyen.

As previously announced, the visit is aimed at encouraging the BiH leadership to take additional steps towards opening the accession negotiations in March this year.

The EU anticipates that BiH will meet the 14 priorities set for it in order to open negotiations with the EU. ■