The Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Borjana Krišto, stated last night that the summit in Tirana confirmed that the European Commission had adopted the Reform Agenda for BiH. As she pointed out, the official confirmation will be sent to the institutions of BiH on Wednesday of next week. What does the confirmation of the Reform Agenda itself actually mean, which sets a series of tasks and conditions for the institutions of BiH to meet in order to withdraw funds?
The confirmation that the European Commission has adopted the Reform Agenda for BiH came from the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of BiH. However, the confirmation from the European Commission alone does not mean great optimism, because numerous tasks and conditions that need to be met in order to gain access to the 917 million euros of funds are facing the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
BORJANA KRIŠTO, Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of BiH
“After that, we will have the appointment of a coordinator and the ratification of two agreements, the Accession Agreement and the Loan Agreement, where they actually said that they are desperately waiting for the ratification of these two agreements, so that we can continue with the implementation of this important project, namely the Growth Plan, with other countries in the region.”
The fund was originally 108 million euros higher, but 10 percent of the funds, or the stated amount, were taken from Bosnia and Herzegovina due to missing deadlines in adopting the Reform Agenda. After official confirmation, Bosnia and Herzegovina should receive the first tranche of 60 million euros by the end of the year, which is due to us based on the adoption of the document. The remaining money, 850 million euros, is conditional on serious work and meeting the conditions from the adopted document.
ALIJA BEHRAM, journalist and analyst
“I can’t understand that we are being offered 60 million euros, and I haven’t seen a single project that is being put forward. The EU didn’t say that it would give us that money ‘blank’, we will have to justify every euro. We are late, it’s the end of the year.”
Among other things, Bosnia and Herzegovina has committed to reforms in the sectors of green and digital transition, the private sector, the business environment, the judiciary and especially the rule of law, which is emphasized as the most important segment on which the BiH government must work. However, experts in the European integration process point out that the rule of law has its price, which has been demonstrated in the countries that recently joined the European Union, namely numerous arrests for corruption and crime.
LEJLA RAMIĆ MESIHOVIĆ, expert on European integration
“What somehow ‘screams’ as a need is the rule of law in everyday life in the economy, contractual relations, and when you come to work, it is important to know where you came from, who is your founder, what are the sources of financing, all of this applies to everyday life.”
The growth plan stipulates that funds cannot be spent “blank”, but the state withdrawing the money must provide a list of projects where every euro would be spent as planned. Each project, proposed by municipalities, cantons or entities, must receive support at the level of the Council of Ministers.
Among the numerous conditions required of Bosnia and Herzegovina are the establishment of a Commission for Conflict of Interest at the state level, the establishment of anti-corruption bodies at the entity and state levels, as well as the abolition of the defamation law, the resolution of public service debts, and more convictions for organized crime at all levels. However, it should be recalled here that the ministers from the SNSD have already announced that they will create certain obstructions in the implementation of the agenda, so if the announcement comes true, it is difficult to expect the withdrawal of the remaining money.
