EU leaders are set to agree on opening membership talks with Bosnia. Many strings are attached

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders are set to agree on the opening of membership negotiations with Bosnia-Herzegovina,  even though the Western Balkan country must still do a lot of work before talks can begin. The 27 leaders are expected to give the green light on Thursday following a positive recommendation from the European Commission — the EU’s executive arm — last week.  For candidates to join the EU, they have to go through a lengthy process to align their laws and standards with those of the bloc. Bosnia is riven by ethnic divisions, even decades after the 1992-95 war that tore the country apart.