The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina should meet urgently and make a decision on sending international aid to Slovenia in the rehabilitation of the consequences of catastrophic floods. There is no indication of when the session will be scheduled. Officials from entity civil protection said that they are ready to make their capacities and personnel available to the population of Slovenia. We are waiting for the green light from the BiH Council of Ministers.
Pictures of the devastating floods that hit Slovenia are going around the world. The first to help come from neighboring countries, so Croatia has already sent 17 members of the Croatian Army with engineering machines. Bosnia and Herzegovina is still waiting, and the decision of the BiH Council of Ministers to provide international aid is awaited. As the Minister for Human Rights and Refugees of BiH Sevlid Hurtić said the session could only be scheduled for August 23, because it is still the vacation period.
Through the EU Mechanism for Civil Protection, Slovenia asked for help with the heavy machinery necessary for cleaning the terrain. In accordance with the EU mechanism, Bosnia and Herzegovina would have the right to return 75 percent of its own funds spent by the European Union, said BiH Security Minister Nenad Nešić. If the civil protections proceed independently, they will not be entitled to a refund.
“The Republican Administration of Civil Protection of the RS and the FUCZ have expressed their readiness to send available vehicles with crews to clear the terrain, and as a minister I will submit a proposal to the Council of Ministers to make a decision on sending international aid.”
“In accordance with the available capacities and based on the request, the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina have prepared a unit of the temporary composition of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, consisting of ten members of the engineering battalion, which is trained for such situations, as well as the necessary machinery,” the Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced.
And entity civil protection is ready to send help. Milan Novitović, Acting Director of the Republican Administration of Civil Protection of the Republika Srpska, was in Slovenia and says that the Slovenians lack machines, and especially they lack manpower to work in the field.
