EC welcomes BiH's progress in public procurement and calls for accelerated implementation of reforms

(Patria) - At today's eighth meeting of the Subcommittee on Internal Market and Competition, including Health and Consumer Protection between the EU and BiH, members of the two delegations exchanged information on the work of the Competition Council and the State Aid Council of BiH.

Representatives of the European Commission stressed that the "national veto" in the decision-making procedure should be removed from the Law on Competition and the Law on State Aid, and that equal and transparent application of state aid rules should be ensured throughout the country.

The European Commission welcomed progress in the area of public procurement, the adoption of the Public Procurement Strategy 2024-2027 and the Action Plan, noting that further reforms are needed to improve the capacities of the Public Procurement Agency of BiH, the use of the e-procurement system, and to prepare a roadmap for coordinating the alignment of BiH's legal framework with the EU acquis in the area of concessions and public-private partnerships.

The European Commission recommended the adoption of a horizontal law on services, aligned with the EU Directive, and the creation of a comprehensive list of administrative and technical steps to enable businesses to operate throughout BiH, with the aim of eliminating requirements that hinder the creation of a single economic space.

Members of the European Commission delegation praised BiH's efforts in preparing the draft and adoption of the law on postal services in BiH, and information was exchanged on the preparation of a strategy for the development of postal services at the state level.

Discussions also covered the list of regulated professions in BiH, as well as the intensification of activities on alignment with EU regulations on mutual recognition of professional qualifications and the progress made regarding certain professions.

Furthermore, BiH needs to adopt a strategy on intellectual property rights for the period 2024-2028, as well as a set of regulations in this area, aligned with EU legislation.

The European Commission recommended strengthening the framework for bank resolution by amending entity laws on banking and the law on deposit insurance, in order to enable the creation of a financial stability fund and maintain robust supervision of the banking sector.

One of the recommendations is to improve the connectivity and harmonisation of business registers between the entities and Brčko District.

The meeting also discussed sustainable financing in the area of public health, healthcare reform that will be accessible to all citizens, alignment of BiH legislation with EU regulations on tobacco control, and consumer protection.

The eighth meeting of the Subcommittee on Internal Market and Competition, including Health and Consumer Protection, was co-chaired on behalf of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Brankica Pandurević from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, and on behalf of the European Union by Heinke Veit from the European Commission (DG NEAR).