Representatives of the European Commission and the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) met on 4-5 June in Brussels for the 6th Sub-committee meeting on Transport, Energy, Environment and Regional Development, to discuss the level of approximation of the country with EU rules and standards in the fields of transport, energy, environment, regional development and climate change. It was chaired on the BiH side by Mr Zoran Andrić, Assistant Minister from the BiH Ministry of Communication and Transport, and on the Commission side by Mr Georg Ziegler, Acting Head of Unit BiH of the Enlargement Directorate General of the European Commission.
The Commission expressed its sympathy to the citizens of BiH regarding the recent catastrophic floods that hit the region and informed about the preparation of a first programme package reallocating approximately 40 million EURO of IPA funds from the years 2011-2012-2013 in order to help the country to recover from the floods, followed soon by a second package under IPA 2014.
The Commission reiterated the importance of the adoption of country-wide strategies in the relevant fields both for the further alignment with EU rules and standards and for unblocking the access to funds from the pre-accession instrument (IPA) for investments in the given sectors. This will require improving coordination and cooperation between all levels of government.
The Commission expressed concerns that there is still no sufficient progress with regard to a state level law or a harmonised legal framework between the two entities on transport of dangerous goods. On the positive side, the Commission welcomed the progress that has been made in the air transport sector as well as the active representation of BiH in South-East Europe Transport Observatory Network (SEETO). It invited BiH to be duly represented also in the Railway Working Group. The Commission encouraged to take measures to improve road safety, in particular by raising awareness about the need to wear a seatbelt.
As regards environment, the Commission expressed its concerns about the limited progress made by BiH in aligning with the EU environmental acquis and stressed the need for a coordinated approach between the various institutions responsible for environmental protection at Entity and State level. The Commission underlined that amongst others more efforts are needed in transposing and implementing the Waste Framework Directive, the Landfill Directive and the Hazardous Waste Directive. It recalled the importance of legislation on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). In this context it inquired about the Upper Horizon project following some complaints from NGOs about possible environmental damage.
The Commission noted that BiH has no country-wide climate strategy in place. It welcomed the adoption of the Strategy on low-carbon development and BiH’s participation in the ECRAN programme regarding climate change issues. Inter-institutional cooperation throughout the country should be strengthened.
On regional development, the Commission welcomed that the BiH Ministry of Foreign Trade and economic relations has been declared coordinating Ministry for regional development.
As regards energy issues, the Commission expressed among others its concerns regarding the lack of coherent strategies and regulatory systems in the fields of electricity, gas and oil. It invited BiH to advance work in the field of electricity legislation making best use of the comprehensive IPA assistance. The Commission urged BiH to implement common rules for internal market in natural gas, as non-compliance in this area has led to the first infringement case under the Energy Community Treaty. Urgent action is necessary in order to avoid sanctions which may be taken by the Ministerial Council in September 2014.
The Commission reiterated its position on the South Stream project and urged BiH to rectify the draft Intergovernmental Agreement between BiH and the Russian Federation in order to bring it in line with the Energy Community legislation which is binding on BiH. On the basis of a specific case, the Commission strongly requested BiH to ensure that returnees (refugees or internally displaced persons) are connected with the electricity grid.
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