The reform agenda, a document adopted by the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the end of September, will certainly receive the approval of the European Commission, according to information obtained by Klix.ba.
The adoption and acceptance of this document is the first step for our country to get access to funds in the amount of 917 million euros.
By the way, this fund was larger by 108 million euros, but 10 percent of the funds, that is, the stated amount, was taken from our country due to breaking the deadlines for the adoption of the Reform Agenda.
When the European Commission makes official the acceptance of the Reform Agenda, Bosnia and Herzegovina should, by the end of the year, receive the first tranche of 60 million euros, which belongs to us only based on the adoption of the document.
The rest of the money depends on serious work
In order for BiH to receive the other 850 million euros from this fund, it is necessary to fulfill the items from the Reform Agenda, which was accepted by all the ministers in the Council of Ministers of BiH.
Among other things, with this document, BiH committed to reforms in the sectors of green and digital transition, private sector, business environment, judiciary and rule of law.
Special emphasis is placed on reforms in the rule of law, which is emphasized as the most important segment on which the authorities in BiH must work, even outside the framework of the Reform Agenda.
In particular, BiH is expected to adopt new laws on the courts of BiH and the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC), the law on the protection of “whistleblowers”, i.e. persons who point out corruption in state institutions, as well as the protection of journalists and the media from political pressure and attacks.
Also, the establishment of a Commission for conflict of interest at the state level, and the establishment of anti-corruption bodies at the entity and state levels, as well as the abolition of defamation laws at the state level, the settlement of public service debts, and more judgments for organized crime at all levels are also requested.
Obstructions already announced
However, it should be recalled here that the ministers from the SNSD, especially Staša Košarac, have already announced that they will create certain obstructions in the implementation of the adopted document.
“We supported the Reform Agenda because we have the support of the institutions of Republika Srpska. We will be conditioned again, there will be no money, I am convinced of that. We supported this project because of the good cooperation of some of the parties that come from the FBiH, not the Troika,” Košarac said after this document was adopted.
If Kosarac’s announcements materialize, behind which the rest of his party probably stands, the rest of the money for Bosnia and Herzegovina from the Growth Plan could remain blocked.
It is also worth pointing out that the Growth Plan stipulates that the funds cannot be spent “blankly”, but the country that withdraws the money should provide a list of projects where every euro would be spent as planned.
Although this list was part of one of the previous proposals, it was not fully agreed upon, and each project proposed by lower units (municipalities, cantons and entities) will have to receive support at the level of the Council of Ministers.
In any case, BiH currently has a guaranteed 60 million euros, but for the rest of the money, it will be necessary to “survive” the serious political obstructions that have already been announced, as well as reach a consensus on the projects that would be financed with these funds, he writes. Klix.
