SARAJEVO – The Delegation of the European Union to BiH stated for the European Western Balkans that it is highly likely that this country will not receive the first unconditional instalment of pre-financing, worth 7%, envisioned by the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. Such a scenario is a result of the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina has not submitted a final Reform Agenda to the European Commission yet.
“This is a missed opportunity for substantial early funding. We encourage the BiH authorities to submit their Reform Agenda without further delays, in order not to fully miss this opportunity. The Commission will continue supporting the authorities in finalising the work as needed”, the Communications Office of the Delegation of the EU to Bosnia Herzegovina and EU Special Representative in BiH stresses for EWB.
The Delegation of the EU to BiH adds that the first instalment of the Growth Plan can only be disbursed once the Reform Agenda has been submitted to and formally agreed upon by the European Commission and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that the The Growth Plan is supported by a new financing instrument – the Reform and Growth Facility for Western Balkans – worth up to €6 billion in grants and loans for the whole region.
Asked about the Reform Agenda, the Directorate for European Integration of BiH underlines that the coordinator of the working team for the development of the Reform Agenda for the Growth Plan is the Directorate for Economic Planning, so “we refer you to them as the relevant interlocutor in the Council of Ministers of BiH for your inquiry”. However, the Directorate for Economic Planning has not provided any answer to the questions sent by EWB.
Pierre Mirel: A country that does not succeed in adopting its reform agenda is penalised, and rightly so
Commenting on the fact that the authorities in BiH missed the deadline to align the draft Reform Agenda and to send it to the European Commission, Pierre Mirel, a former Director of the Directorate-General for Enlargement at the European Commission, states for EWB that funding competition is the best way to ensure reforms and to reward them.
“I have pleaded for competition through funding since 2019 in several papers. Funding competition is indeed the best way to ensure reforms and to reward them. A country that does not succeed in adopting its reform agenda is penalised, and rightly so. I hope therefore that it will provoke a welcome political awakening, as BiH so badly needs funding”, Pierre Mirel remarks.
Who is to be blamed for the failure of the Reform Agenda?
It was reported by the media in BiH that the members of the working group for drafting Reform Agenda included four state ministers, two entity prime ministers, two finance ministers, ten cantonal prime ministers, along with the directors of the Directorate for Economic Planning and the Directorate for European Integration of BiH. They were supposed to present their proposals and harmonise the plan to be sent by Council of Ministers of BiH to Brussels.
Minister of Communication and Transport, Edin Forto, blamed the Democratic Action Party (SDA) for missing a significant opportunity, stating that it, through its four cantonal prime ministers, refused to support the Reform agenda.
“The SDA decided to block the European path and deprive citizens and businesses throughout BiH of funds“, Forto said.
Borjana Krišto, Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of BiH, said that the working group for drafting the Reform Agenda in BiH did not approve a draft, as representatives from four cantons had not given their consent to the proposed draft document, despite an additional two-day extension, granted by the European Commission.
“Unfortunately, despite all efforts and support we received from European institutions, it was not enough for everyone in Bosnia and Herzegovina to show a minimal degree of political responsibility and focus our activities towards a common European path“, Borjana Krišto claimed.
The US Embassy in Sarajevo stated that the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans represented a unique offer from the EU to the citizens, allowing them to benefit from some advantages of EU membership even before full accession. As it was reported by the Embassy, the EU had a Reform Agenda in front the political leaders, and for weeks its approval was blocked by Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, who had refused to accept two of the more than 100 points in the plan, including the requirement that the RS appoint judges to the BiH Constitutional Court and recognise the decisions of the Court.
On the other hand, Council of Ministers Deputy Chairman Staša Košarac claimed that the Federation of BiH created blockage due to the intra-Bosniak conflict between the Troika and the SDA that are now accusing each other in this political mess, not wanting to take responsibility for stopping EU integration.
“They completely unfoundedly attacked the coordination mechanism in the desire to transfer all activities in the European process to the level of joint institutions, which is unconstitutional, illegal and out of mind”, Košarac remarked. According to him, “the height of insanity is the unprovoked position of the US ambassador to BiH Michael Murphy” that the President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik is to blame for the failure of the Reform Agenda.