In ‘a country unlike any other' reform is painfully slow work

This has been a good year for Bosnia and Herzegovina's ambitions to forge closer ties with the EU. After years of deadlock, Bosnia's politicians in April managed to agree a reform of the fragmented police, a key condition set by the EU for a pre-accession Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). The signing of the SAA in Luxembourg on 16 June provided a rare moment of optimism for the troubled country and Prime Minister Nikola Špiric´ now wants to submit an application for full EU membership before the end of the year.