Sarajevo - Nearly 13 years after the 1992-95 bloodshed Bosnia-Herzegovina is to make Monday a big step towards full European Union membership.

Bosnia-Herzegovina's Prime Minister Nikola Spiric and the European Union Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn are to sign in Luxembourg a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) between Bosnia- Herzegovina and the EU.

Before he left for Luxembourg, Spiric said signing the SAA with the EU would be the most important step for Bosnia-Herzegovina since the Dayton Peace Agreement was signed in 1995 to stop the country's war.

"The SAA presents an open door for a prosperous future for all citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is also a call for Bosnia's political leaders to get out from the past and focus on the future of this state," Spiric said in Banja Luka, as quoted by the Banja Luka daily Nezavisne novine.

The EU High Representative for External Affairs Javier Solana congratulated Bosnia-Herzegovina on the deal, stressing the country would now have to show how fast it can implement the agreement and reach the status of a candidate for the EU.

"How much time it will take depends on the political leadership of Bosnia-Herzegovina and its readiness to overcome political and other obstacles in the implementation of the SAA," Solana said in an interview to Sarajevo daily Dnevni avaz on Monday.

According to Bosnia's Foreign Minister Sven Alkalaj, the SAA would also open opportunities for the country's economic progress as the deal would help to establish a free-trade regime between Bosnia- Herzegovina and the EU.

Once it signs the SAA and even more so when it achieves the status of a candidate for EU membership, Alkalaj said, Bosnia-Herzegovina will have more financial assistance from the EU.

Rehn recently told Bosnian media that the new trade regulations resulting from the SAA would bring investment to Bosnia-Herzegovina and would improve the country's trade with the EU. (dpa)