By Denitsa Koseva in Sofia The European Commission decided on October 12 to recommend that the EU grant Bosnia & Herzegovina candidate status despite its slow progress, in an attempt to strengthen Western influence and weaken the Russian one in the politically divided Balkan state. Bosnia formally applied for EU membership in February 2016, but it took three years for its politicians to complete and approve the questionnaire sent by Brussels. Meanwhile, reforms in the deeply divided country have been stalled for years. Despite that, Bosnia was hoping to get an EU candidate status along with Mo…