Bh. the authorities missed another opportunity to react in time, and another important deadline expired — the one for submitting a report on the level of implementation of reforms within the framework of the European Growth Plan.
Along with Kosovo, we are the only country in the Western Balkans that does not have the right to millions of euros earmarked for various projects. The reason for this is the opposition of the ministers from the Republika Srpska entity, from which they claim that they do not need unfavorable loans and conditions from the European Commission.
It is a lie, which is being marketed from Sarajevo, says BiH Finance Minister Srđan Amidžić, that BiH is losing money. He is persistent in his position that the funds from the so-called Growth Plan are mainly credit funds under special conditions, and that Republika Srpska does not need such a thing.
“For them to finance projects that they think are important infrastructure projects in the RS, the endangerment of certain categories is important, but the construction of infrastructure in terms of railway or passenger traffic is not important to them, that is madness. I borrow 700 million euros and give you that 700 million euros to tell me how I will spend that money, in which case you charge me interest”, says Srđan Amidžić, Minister of Finance of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Minister of Transport and Communications, Edin Forto, regrets the money and calls for common sense. He hopes that the next session of the Council of Ministers will bring changes.
“I hope that we will not be left without it, regardless of who will implement it and who will sit in the Council of Ministers when it happens. I think that, regardless of the fact that we are entering the pre-election period, we should continue to work as if we had just started, so that the new convocation, perhaps when it comes, does not waste time on these things such as the ratification of the agreement, the adoption of the necessary decisions”, emphasizes Edin Forto, Minister of Transport and Communications of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The EU stands by its earlier demands
Sources from the European Union state that the Commission is not giving up on the previously set demands that would mean the unblocking of millions from the Growth Plan.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina must sign loan agreements and credit arrangements, as well as fulfill the remaining steps from the Reform Agenda. If it does not do so, it risks losing almost one billion euros of funds allocated from the Growth Plan,” states the EU’s position.
Non-governmental sector: Not all loans are unfavorable, and 280 million are non-refundable
It is clear that key agreements await the signature of the Minister of Finance. The non-governmental sector admits that it is true that part of the funds from the Growth Plan are loans, but that more than 200 million are non-refundable, which, they say, is priceless. They also claim that Minister Amidžić is wrong when he says that the loans could be unfavorable.
“Loans amount to about 690 million, and non-refundable ones are about 280 million. To say that these are unfavorable loans is very irresponsible for someone who borrows from stock exchanges and commercial banks. These are loans that are considered favorable, have lower interest rates, have a very long grace period, for some of them the principal will not start being paid until 2034,” explains Biljana Livančić from Istinomjer.
The problem is money control, not just loans
Essentially, the biggest problem for officials from Republika Srpska, claims the non-governmental sector, is the fact that they will not be able to manage that money personally, but the flow and spending would be strictly controlled from Brussels.
“What is even more worrisome is that as the expiration of this Growth Plan approaches, more and more discussions are being held in Brussels about the next instruments that should follow the EU’s seven-year financial framework, and the question is, if BiH does not do anything now, does not create the preconditions to access such instruments at all, what is the future for EU financial support and aid to our country, because we know that the IPA is slowly winding down”, points out Edo Kanlić from Transparency International.
There are projects, but there is no political will
Earlier, the European Commission clarified that the money is intended for the development of various sectors, through projects that each country proposes and the Commission eventually approves — from infrastructure to educational or social ones. Bosnia and Herzegovina certainly has hundreds of such proposals, but what it lacks is the political will and agreement, he writes N1 BiH.
