Bosnia & Herzegovina will not receive the first tranche of €70mn funding from the European Union from the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans due to the “lack of political consensus” in the country, the delegation of the European Union said in a statement on July 17.
Bosnia could receive up to €1bn under the growth plan in exchange for specific reforms that would boost economic growth, the functioning of institutions, as well as the rule of law and a the business climate.
“The BiH authorities submitted to the European Commission a draft of the comprehensive Reform Agenda, which is a necessary basis for participation in the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. The European Commission prepared its evaluation of the draft Reform Agenda of BiH and conveyed its comments to the authorities in BiH, requesting that certain revisions be carried out. However, on July 16, the BiH authorities informed the Commission that in the absence of political consensus, they are not in a position to share the finalized text,” the EU delegation said in a statement.
However, the authorities of Bosnia’s Republika Srpska – one of two entities along with the Muslim-Croat Federation that form Bosnia – have not accepted three of the reforms: on the establishment of a single phone number for emergencies in the entire country, the abolition of the entity veto on decisions on the allocation of aid from state funds, and the filling of vacant positions in the state-level constitutional court.
“Failure to adopt the Reform Agenda in accordance with the Commission’s comments will have consequences: unlike other partners in the region, Bosnia and Herzegovina will not receive the first unconditional instalment of pre-financing scheduled for payment after the summer, in the amount of 7% (€70mn), which will miss a significant opportunity for early financing,” the EU delegation noted.
“This is a missed opportunity and we hope that the BiH authorities will soon be able to come to an agreement,” it added.
