The Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Borjana Krišto, has officially submitted an application for funds from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to repair the damage caused by the devastating floods that hit BiH in October.
The Council of Ministers of BiH emphasize that this step represents an important moment for BiH, as this is the first time that BiH has the opportunity to apply for funds from this important European solidarity mechanism.
The application for EUSF funds is the result of intensive work by the Application Preparation Team, which was appointed by the Council of Ministers of BiH at the proposal of Krišto, and which included representatives of the Chairperson’s office, the Ministries of Security and Finance of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Directorate for European Integration, the Directorate for Economic Planning, the Agency for Statistics of BiH, as well as representatives of the entity civil protection administrations.
In total, more than 100 institutions were involved in the damage assessment process according to the PDNA model, which required a high degree of coordination and commitment from all those who participated in the preparation of the application.
The work of the Team was also attended by the appointed coordinators of the Government of the Federation of BiH /FBiH/, coordinators on behalf of the cantonal governments, and teams of local communities from Mostar, Jablanica, Konjic, Fojnica, Kreševo, Kiseljak, Breza, Visoko, Vareš and Drvar.
The entire process of preparing the application, which was complex and intensive, was also attended and assisted by experts from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development from Croatia, experts from Slovenia supported by the World Bank, as well as local experts from the Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy from Banja Luka, the Faculty of Civil Engineering from Sarajevo and the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Geodesy from Mostar.
Support was also provided by Croatia and Slovenia, which made their capacities available for the successful finalization of the application.
The data collection process was carried out through appointed coordinators for all relevant sectors at the level of the Federation of BiH, cantons and at the local level.
The Council of Ministers emphasizes that by submitting the request within the given deadline, BiH has confirmed its commitment to transparent and efficient management of the Solidarity Fund funds, and that this request further emphasizes BiH’s close cooperation with the EU and represents another step towards strengthening relations and integration into the European family.
The October floods, caused by heavy rainfall and extreme weather conditions, caused great material damage, including landslides, torrents that unfortunately led to the loss of human lives, and partially or completely destroyed the housing, transport, water and utility infrastructure of the most affected areas. Numerous local communities were affected, especially in the central, southern and western parts of the country, leaving behind severe consequences for both the population and the economy.
