Head of the Delegation of the European Union, Johan Sattler, stated that Bosnia and Herzegovina should join the single payment area in euros. Economic experts assess that our country does not meet all the necessary criteria for switching to the euro and that it would not have significant benefits.
JOHAN SATTLER. head of the EU Delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina
“It would dramatically reduce the costs of cross-border economic transactions for individuals and businesses. We also plan to expand the so-called green lanes at EU borders to use technology and cooperation between customs and law enforcement officials to allow goods to cross borders more quickly and easily.”
The former governor of the Central Bank is surprised by Sattler statement, because, he says, he should know the conditions for entering the European monetary union. The first is for BiH to become a member of the EU, and then to fulfill four criteria.
KEMAL KOZARIĆ, former governor of the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina
“Out of 4 criteria, we have two – a fixed exchange rate and low inflation. On the other hand, we have unemployment over 10 percent and a current account that is negative, so we do not meet the master criteria. However, unilateral euroization is not allowed, we must meet those criteria in order to think about the European currency.”
The citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina believe in the convertible mark and this is shown by the growth of deposits, says Professor Branimir Skoko. He notes that Croatia switched to the euro at the beginning of last year, which traders used to raise or round up prices, so the citizens paid for the price increase.
BRANIMIR SKOKO, professor at the Faculty of Economics in Mostar
“I don’t know what the more significant benefits would be. We are currently in the process of introducing SEPA payment transactions and this should facilitate payment transactions, but it is not related to the euro, it is a process that was pushed by obtaining candidate status and is not conditioned or related to the introduction of the euro.”
“It meant that we can’t even do what we are doing today, which is to invest the 16 billion foreign currency reserves that we had at the end of 2023 and make a profit on it. We saw that the Central Bank had a profit of over 200 million last year, and we would give up those 200 million because we would use euros in our own payment transactions.”
MARKO ĐOGO, Dean of the Faculty of Economics in East Sarajevo
Twenty members of the European Union replaced their national currencies with a single currency, the euro. Twenty years after the introduction of the euro, seven countries in the euro zone refused to join the monetary union, because they want to keep their national currency and economic independence.
