European Union ministers on Tuesday endorsed giving Bosnia and Herzegovina the status of being a candidate to join the bloc, according to Euronews.

The decision has to be approved by the leaders of the EU’s 27 members, who will gather in Brussels for a summit on Thursday.

“This sends a strong signal to the Western Balkan region and above all, to the citizens of Bosnia & Herzegovina,” Austrian EU minister Karoline Edtstadler wrote on Twitter.

Bisara Turkobic, the Deputy Chairperson of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina described the decision as a “huge, historic move towards EU membership.”

“It is also a recognition of the enormous effort that has been invested in order to fulfill the conditions, but to a large extent also in the struggle to present the truth about the situation in BiH to the EU countries and to stop all attempts to jeopardize the already achieved progress.”

“For the state, this will mean the opening of new channels of cooperation with the EU, new financial funds and investments,” she said.

EU leaders said following a summit with Western Balkan countries in June that they stood ready to endorse candidate status but called on the Commission to issue an assessment on the implementation of the 14 priorities.

Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi welcomed the decision to grant candidate status, writing on Twitter: “Europe Delivers!”

“EU path is open! We have high hope & expectations that 14 key priorities will be delivered for Bosnia & Herzegovina citizens’ benefit,” he added.

Source: Azerbaijan State News Agency