Agreements on the European Union’s contribution to the two investments located in Republika Srpska, regardless of the assessment of technical relevance and performance, should be signed only after the end of the current political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This includes a return to the full functioning of state institutions, according to a letter sent by the Deputy Director for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Katarina Mathernova, to the National Coordinator for IPA Funds, Fena news agency has learned.
According to Mathernova in the letter, after presenting the proposal at the first meeting of the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) Operational Committee on December 17, 2021, the WBIF Secretariat initiated a written procedure to determine the opinion of the WBIF Operational Committee on proposals submitted in under the call for proposals for technical assistance projects and for investment projects.
This written procedure was necessary since the meeting was held in a virtual format, and relates to the technical relevance and success of applications and includes the following two investments in BiH: Railway section Samac – Doboj – Rječica on Corridor 5C with a total investment of 162 million euros (EBRD) and a grant component from the EU budget of 84 million euros and the section of the highway on Corridor 5C between the Johovac loop and the Vukosavlje loop (EIB) with a total investment of 463 million euros and the EU grant component of 183 million euros.
As for these two investments, located in Republika Srpska, I would like to inform you of our intention to sign these related agreements on EU contribution, regardless of the assessment of technical relevance and success, only after the end of the current political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Herzegovina and a return to the full functioning of state institutions, “Mathernova wrote.