The European Union is concerned over the fact that the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina approved and subsequently forwarded in an urgent procedure to the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH the Draft Law on the Changes and the Amendments to the Law on the Establishment of the Company for Transmission of Electricity in Bosnia and Herzegovina – BiH TRANSCO.
The Draft Law does not reflect the key conclusions agreed between the Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Ministers in charge of Energy of both Entities on the one side, and the European Commission on the other, during the ministerial meeting held in Brussels on 13 November 2012. The European Commission even reminded the 3 Ministers of their commitment on 13 November of this year. These November 2012 Conclusions state that distribution of net income of TRANSCO before 2016 should not take place unless a fully functioning management is established, audited financial accounts are available and most importantly reliable investment plans are adopted, which contain all payment obligations including the reimbursement of loans to the International Financial Institutions.
Regrettably, the draft law adopted by the Council of Ministers does not reflect the requirements agreed upon in 2012 by the 3 Ministers with the EU. For the European Commission, the smooth mid- and long-term functioning of TRANSCO and the high voltage network of the whole country are at stake.
Deputy Director-General, Directorate General Enlargement, Mr. Joost Korte, during a meeting with the Chairman of the Council of Ministers expressed the concerns of the European Commission over this fact. Mr. Korte recommended that the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina carefully reviews the Draft Law before its adoption. Mr. Korte offered ad-hoc technical assistance by the European Commission, so that the law finally adopted is in compliance with the requirements of the European Union.
(Source: EU Delegation to B&H)
