The date of the arrival of the new Special Representative and chief of the EU Delegation in BiH, Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, who on Monday was appointed by the Foreign Affairs Council of the EU, will be announced later, said Andy McGuffie, spokesman of the EU Delegation and EUSR in BiH.To the question of which tasks Wigemark will first dedicate his attention after his arrival in BiH, McGuffie responded that the EUSR “will promptly announce his priorities” and that the real job is on the governments in BiH.
“Governments in BiH should fulfill the expectations of citizens, especially after the elections. The EU on several occasions has stressed that in the next four to five years, BiH will face very serious challenges,” said McGuffie.
He recalls that by several indicators, BiH is the country with the highest degree of youth unemployment in Europe, since 59 percent of the active population from 15 to 24 years of age are unemployed, and BiH is in second place in Europe by the number of unemployed persons (totaling 28 percent of the workforce without a job).
McGuffie also recalls that BiH is the lowest rated European country according to World Bank indicators for ease of doing business and one of the lowest ranked on the Corruption Perceptions Index.
“We believe that reforms necessary for EU accession can help in resolving these problems on a broad plane. The EU has established its policy, – a renewed approach toward BiH in the conclusions of the Foreign Affairs Council,” said McGuffie.
As he says, the Council’s conclusions emphasized that the EU would like to see an irrevocable written obligation agreed in the BiH Presidency, which party leaders would sign and the House of Representatives would approve, with the aim of undertaking essential reforms in the framework of EU accession.
The position of the EU Delegation in BiH is, McGuffie reminds, that the text must hold the obligation to create a starting plan for reforms, including an agreement on growth, the rule of law, good governance, and second issues that relate to functioning, such as the coordination mechanism.
This reform plan, he says, should be developed and implemented with civil society, and in a later phase, McGuffie stresses, dedication to advancing in reforms to improve functionality and efficacy on various administrative levels will be necessary.
In order for this to succeed, McGuffie concludes, the entire institutional and political leadership of BiH on all levels should work jointly on the European future of the country for the benefit of all its residents.
He reports that the EU expects from the governments in BiH that they will oblige themselves to diligence and will enliven the process of EU accession, and especially deal with the issue of the sensitive socioeconomic state such that they start to implement the agreement on growth and employment.
(Source: Oslobodjenje)
