The Council has authorised the Commission to open the negotiations as soon as possible, read conclusions from a regular meeting of the EU foreign ministers who gathered in Brussels on Monday.
The Council expressed satisfaction with Bosnia's progress which made it possible for the Commission to recommend the opening of negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement.
Bosnia-Herzegovina is the last of the five Southeast European countries to undergo the EU's Stabilisation and Association process.
The Council of the EU said the pace of Bosnia's drawing closer with the EU would depend on the country's readiness to adopt and implement the necessary reforms.
The Council said Bosnia needed to reform police forces, adopt and implement laws on public Radio and Television and fully cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
The Council did not mention the date of the start of the negotiations, but diplomatic sources said it would happen on November 25 in Sarajevo.