Bosnia and Herzegovina: Meeting Copenhagen Economic Criteria for EU Accession

Within the Copenhagen criteria, the EU established a twofold set of economic conditions to evaluate the economic readiness for membership of applicant countries. Candidates are required to have a functioning market economy as well as the capacity to cope with competition on the EU market. A comparison of past and present economic indicators of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) with the indicators for the new member states that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 indicates that the group of countries with formal candidate status in 2006 (Turkey, Croatia, FYROM) and other economies in the SEE region set the proper benchmark for an analysis of economic policy. Although BiH does not yet have a formal EU candidate country status, it has been under assessment to see whether it meets Copenhagen criteria within the Stabilization and Association Process (SAP) since 2005.