"Significant step"

EU: Accession talks with Bosnia agreed

(Bild: APA/AFP/Adam BERRY)

The EU heads of state and government officially decided to open accession talks with Bosnia-Herzegovina in Brussels on Thursday. "Your place is in the European family", wrote EU Council President Charles Michel on X.

"This decision is an important step on your path to the EU. Now the hard work must continue so that Bosnia and Herzegovina can move forward as your people want," Michel continued.

Nehammer supports Bosnia's admission
Austria, represented in Brussels by Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP), is one of the strongest supporters of Bosnia's faster integration into the EU. However, some EU states had expressed concerns in advance because the country had not yet implemented all the required reforms.

Scholz: Use interest income from Russian assets for arms purchases
EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova are also to be pushed forward.

A debate broke out at the summit on the issue of using frozen Russian assets. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) spoke out in favor of using the interest from these assets to purchase weapons and ammunition for the defense of Ukraine. Nehammer was skeptical about this. He emphasized that it must be ensured for the neutrals that this is not the case. He considered the original proposal to use the funds for reconstruction to be sensible.

Work continues on the proposal
It was announced in the evening that work is continuing on the basis of the proposals made by EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell. According to the proposal, 90 percent of the interest profits from frozen Russian assets should be used to purchase weapons for Ukraine. Ten percent is to flow into the reconstruction and strengthening of the Ukrainian defense industry.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selensky described this as "fair". The weapons would be used to put an end to Russian terror. The "aggressor should pay the highest price for the war", he said in his video address to the EU leaders.