European Union leaders agreed to make Bosnia and Herzegovina a formal candidate to join the bloc of 27 nations.
The Western Balkans country joined the waiting room despite continuing criticism of the way it is run.
Three diplomats told The Associated Press that Bosnia was granted candidate status. They spoke anonymously because the conclusions of a summit of EU leaders in Brussels where the topic was discussed had yet to be published.
The approval came after European affairs ministers agreed unanimously earlier in the week to endorse a recommendation from the bloc's executive arm to grant Bosnia the status.
The EU is a group of 27 countries that act as an economic and political bloc. Its 19 member countries use the Euro as their official currency, while 8 member countries do not use the Euro.
The EU has developed an internal single market through a standardized system of laws that apply to the affairs of all member states and that all member states have an opinion.
