At a special joint session of both houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, members of the House of Representatives and delegates of the House of Peoples asked ministers in the Council of Ministers of BiH questions from various areas, from the appointment of the Minister of Security of BiH, the distribution of revenues from indirect taxes and ethnic representation in state institutions, to issues from energy, border regime, state property, VAT and the legalization of cannabis for medical purposes. Several questions remained unanswered due to the absence of competent representatives of the ministries, while individual ministers presented detailed procedural chronologies and announcements of further actions.
Appointment of the Minister of Security of BiH
MP Milan Dunović requested an explanation as to why a new Minister of Security was not appointed, although the resignation of the predecessor was submitted on January 23, and the legal deadline expired on February 7.
Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of BiH Borjana Krišto outlined the complete procedure, that on February 13, 2025. SNSD submitted a candidate proposal, that the data was sent for verification to the Central Election Commission of BiH and SIPA, and that on 7.3.2025. a decision was made to amend the decision on appointment (appointment of a minister) and forwarded to the preparation of the elections of the Council of Ministers for confirmation.
– The commission session was not held due to the lack of quorum, and an emergency session of the House of Representatives was scheduled on the same day with one item – confirmation of the appointment. The candidate withdrew before the start of the session (act of 17.3.2025), so I withdrew the decision from the procedure – said Krišto.
She pointed out that she had fulfilled her legal obligation and that the appointments of political positions are based on the will of the parliamentary majority.
Dunović responded that the process from Article 14 of the Law on the Council of Ministers was not carried out within the deadline and that the opposition was thus deprived of the right to express its opinion on the candidate in the confirmation procedure.
Distribution of revenues from indirect taxes
MP Dženan Đonlagić asked on the basis of which decision and from what date the ITA BiH Management Board distributes revenues from the Single Account to the entities and the Brčko District.
He did not receive an answer because the Minister of Finance and Treasury of BiH Srđan Amidžić was not present at the session, and his deputy Muhamed Hasanović said that he was not competent.
In his explanation, he stated that, contrary to the Law on the Indirect Taxation System and the Rulebook on the Calculation of Coefficients, decisions on temporary coefficients must be made quarterly.
As he said, the Management Board made only one decision for the entire 2023 and 2024, for the third quarter of 2023 (July–September), which is still applied today, which, according to estimates, led to an excess of funds transferred to the RS at the expense of the FBiH in the total amount of approximately 74 million KM.
He also stated that the calculations were submitted in a timely manner by the Macroeconomic Analysis Department of the ITA BiH.
Ethnic representation in BiH institutions
MP Šefik Džaferović requested information on what the Council of Ministers of BiH is doing to respect the constitutional and legal principles of ethnic representation of employees, and to include the topic on the agenda of the next session.
Krišto responded that, in compliance with applicable laws, the balance of all three constituent peoples is taken into account when hiring, while respecting national affiliation.
Question of the resignation of the Chairperson of the BiH CoM
Delegate Zlatko Miletić asked Chairperson Krišto whether she would resign, citing the problems of BHRT workers, the late adoption of the 2025 budget, and the challenges of seven cultural institutions of importance to BiH.
She responded that she would not resign and emphasized that she performs her job responsibly and professionally, in accordance with the Constitution and laws, without seeing “any justified reason other than politics”, with a special emphasis on the European path of BiH as a common interest of citizens.
WBIF investments and infrastructure projects
Mia Karamehić-Abazović requested information on BiH’s obligations towards the Energy Community, especially the CBAM and the Electricity Law, with a warning of the consequences for the economy and exporters.
The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations will provide the answer, as representatives are not present today.
Jasmin Emrić requested clarification of the criteria for the indicative list of WBIF investments, stating that no infrastructure route towards Tuzla is planned.
Krišto again explained the procedure in detail – two calls per year for technical assistance, one for investment grants, guidelines and criteria in the call, call distribution channel, mandatory partner among leading international financial institutions, evaluation in ministries and the State Investment Committee, then analysis by the European Commission with the involvement of international organizations, then recommendation by the group of financiers and approval by the Strategic and Operational Committees, and the final decision is made by the WBIF Board of Directors by consensus.
Problems at border crossings
Branislav Borenović asked about problems at border crossings and the opening of integrated crossings towards Montenegro and Serbia for easier movement of people and road transport. The answer should be submitted by the Ministry of Security, as representatives are not present.
Nenad Grković asked whether it is possible to negotiate with the EU to exempt BiH citizens from the scanning procedure at the borders.
Krišto stated that these are EU regulations, and that the only thing that has been achieved is the gradual introduction of the system to avoid crowds; everything else is in accordance with EU directives.
Archives of the Hague Tribunal
The Speaker of the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliament, Kemal Ademović, asked what the Council of Ministers has done or intends to do to ensure that BiH receives the archives of the Hague Tribunal (ICTY) for safekeeping, which has initiated mechanisms for handing over documentation to interested countries.
– The Ministry of Justice of BiH received a note from the UN Office for Legal Affairs and requested an opinion on the possible placement of the materials in the State Archives of BiH, and on 7 and 10 October 2025, a request was sent to the Archives for information on capacities.
The Archives responded that it does not have the spatial, personnel and financial capabilities to take over the materials in a quality manner. The Ministry of Justice is working on preparing information for the Council of Ministers and obtaining the necessary opinions for inclusion on the agenda and decision-making on further action – responded Minister of Justice Davor Bunoza.
State property and moves by the RS authorities
Jasmin Imamović asked whether the Council of Ministers had been informed about the statements of officials from the Republika Srpska entity (forests “registered 1/1” in the RS, announcement of a 40-year lease of agricultural land, amendments to the Law on the RS Attorney General’s Office – immunity for the attorney general and deputies) and whether a procedure for protecting state property had been initiated.
Bunoza said that the BiH Ministry of Justice had not been officially informed of these allegations, that the law on state property had not yet been adopted, and that the BiH Attorney General’s Office, according to Article 13(2) of the Law on the Attorney General’s Office, protects the property and property interests of BiH and can initiate proceedings based on specific reports without special approval from the Council of Ministers or the Ministry of Justice.
He stated that the BiH Ministry of Justice is not competent to adopt entity regulations.
Distribution of indirect taxes 2020–2025.
MP Albin Muslić requested a detailed, tabular overview of the distribution of indirect taxes by entities and the Brčko District for the period 2020–2024 and the first six months of 2025, by category.
The answer should be given by the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, because none of the authorized representatives are present.
Želimir Nešković asked at what stage the implementation of the amendments to the VAT Law regarding VAT refunds when purchasing a first apartment is. The answer should be given by the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, because the authorized representative is not present.
Construction of Corridor Vc
MP Ilija Cvitanović requested precise data from the Council of Ministers on the construction of Corridor Vc, including an overview of the shares, costs, method of financing and possible compound interest.
Minister of Communications and Transport of BiH Edin Forto recalled that plans for Corridor Vc date back to the 1970s, and the route was formally approved in 1982 as part of the BiH Spatial Plan. The first significant steps, he said, were only made in 2004 when the Council of Ministers made a decision on the development of the project, followed by a feasibility study and a preliminary design from 2006.
The total length of the corridor through BiH is 335 kilometers, of which 46.6 km passes through Republika Srpska, and the rest through the Federation of BiH. So far, 137.5 km have been built in the Federation, and 6 km in the RS, while the Ministry of Communications and Transport at the state level has only implemented the construction of the interstate bridge on the Svilaj.
Forto emphasized that his ministry, as well as the Council of Ministers, is not responsible for the construction of the sections themselves, but that credit borrowings and payments, including any intercalary interest, are implemented at the entity level.
According to the report of the FBiH Motorways from the end of October 2025, submitted to the Parliament, the methods of financing each section, credit borrowings and an overview of activities on the remaining sections are presented in detail.
Forto added that the project to build the Doboj–Vukosavlje section in RS, although approved, was stopped by the European Union for political reasons.
The deadline for the completion of Corridor Vc, as he emphasized, was defined at the European Union level through the indicative enlargement for the Western Balkans – 2030, and Bosnia and Herzegovina has committed to fulfilling it.
