By Daria Sito-Sucic
SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Bosnia plans to kick-start a long-delayed bid to join the European Union by applying for membership by the end of this year, the chairman of the country's three-man presidency said on Tuesday.
The Balkan country signed an association agreement with the EU as far back as 2008 but, having dragged on reforms, did not see that ratified until June, after Germany and Britain last year moved to revive its membership bid by focussing on economic and social rather than political issues.
Under that initiative, the EU required the ethnically divided country's leaders to agree a reform agenda and timetable, a task Bosnia has completed.
"The goal is ... to file a credible application by the end of this year," Dragan Covic, the Croat chairman of the inter-ethnic presidency, told a news conference, adding he was convinced outstanding issues would be resolved by then.
Bosnia lags behind its neighbours on road to joining the 28-nation EU. It has struggled to overcome ethnic divisions that linger 20 years after the end of a war in which some 100,000 people died, and many observers believe membership is unlikely before 2025.
Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, the head of the EU delegation in Bosnia, said the bloc expected "meaningful progress" on the reform agenda.
"But we as Europeans stand ready to support you... along the way," Wigemark said. "I think it's time for good news to come out of Bosnia-Herzegovina."
In its negotiations with the EU, Bosnia has agreed on a long-disputed coordination of decision-making among various government layers, which its leaders have yet to endorse.
The country's two autonomous regions have also kicked off social and economic reforms, though most remain blocked in their respective parliaments.
Wigemark said the bloc would support Bosnia's reforms with 1 billion euro (718.52 million pound) over the next three years, and a further 500 million euros for infrastructure investment.
(editing by John Stonestreet) OLGBWORLD Reuters UK Online Report World News 20151027T165551+0000