A coalition of civil society organisations found that Bosnia and Herzegovina backslid in ten of nineteen areas assessed in its accession process. The report, titled "Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU Path: A Year of Missed Opportunities," noted significant progress in none of the categories examined during the period from the second half of 2025 to mid-2026. Limited progress appeared in seven areas, while two showed no change at all. This assessment aligns with the European Commission’s recent warning that the country displays "increasing disengagement" from its EU path, a stance that puts €373.9mn in funding at risk.
Accession process stalled
Legislation for the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council and state courts remains unadopted by mid-2026, leaving the national programme for adopting the EU acquis pending. Political agreement on a chief negotiator has yet to be reached, as authorities pursue competing proposals for the office. The lower house voted in October 2025 to establish an office where parliament appoints the negotiator, but the chair of the Council of Ministers supports a temporary government body instead. This dispute was referred to the Constitutional Court, further delaying the start of practical negotiations more than two and a half years after EU leaders agreed to open them. Luigi Soreca, head of the EU delegation, warned that the anniversary of the decision risks becoming another missed opportunity. Funding access is equally restricted because Bosnia submitted its Reform Agenda only in September 2025, after the Commission reduced its indicative allocation by 10% in July due to missed deadlines. By early 2026, required agreements remained unsigned and no coordinator had been appointed, preventing access to even the €68mn available in pre-financing.
Anti-corruption record deteriorates
Corruption investigations fell to 359 in 2025, down from 618 in 2016, with only 28 involving grand corruption. Of 144 indictments for corruption offences, just six concerned grand corruption, representing a 75% decrease compared to 2023. Prosecutors declined to open investigations in 54% of corruption reports they resolved in 2025, while more than 43% of those convicted received suspended sentences. These figures indicate little progress toward the credible track record Brussels demands. The HJPC had processed only 22% of the 1,546 asset-declaration cases for 2024 by May 2026, leaving 56% unexamined. A BAM900mn tender for gasification in Republika Srpska also drew scrutiny when a consortium member lent BAM300,000 to a company co-owned by the current head of Sarajevo-gas. Defamation remains a criminal offence in Republika Srpska, and the Central Election Commission sanctioned statements about its own work without clear criteria distinguishing disinformation from political opinion.
