Germany's Wadephul in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Western Balkans tour

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul kicks off a tour of the six Western Balkan countries on Sunday with a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The tour focuses on the Western Balkan states' long-running EU accession process, which for some countries has dragged on for decades.

A spokesman for the German Foreign Office said Germany has long been a close partner to the Western Balkans on their path to joining the European Union.

"For us, one thing is certain: the Western Balkans are part of the European family," he said.

In 2003, the European Union agreed that the Western Balkan countries would be eligible to become members once they had completed a number of reforms.

Today, the states are at different stages on the path to joining the EU, with growing frustration over the lengthy process. The EU fears this could push some to turn towards political rivals such as China and Russia.

On Sunday, Wadephul plans to meet the three members of Bosnia and Herzegovina's presidency, which consists of one representative each from the Bosniak, Serbian and Croatian ethnic groups, in the capital Sarajevo.

He is also scheduled to meet Christian Schmidt, the international community's High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina under the Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended a three-year civil war in 1995.

From Bosnia and Herzegovina, Wadephul is due to travel on to Montenegro and Albania on Monday, then fly to Serbia in the evening. On Tuesday, he plans to visit Kosovo before continuing to North Macedonia in the evening.