Ferguson: Reforms in BiH will not be easy and are very demanding

By Edward Ferguson, British Ambassador to BiH

The role of the United Kingdom, along with Germany, in launching the European Union's new approach to Bosnia and Herzegovina is well known. Perhaps less known is the role we continue to play in supporting the implementation of the Reform Agenda, which is at the heart of that approach.

The Reform Agenda is not ours, it is yours. And it has not been imposed. Elected governments at the state and entity levels have developed it, and it reflects their priorities for the next three years. But, along with our international partners, we fully support these necessary socio-economic reforms.

In our eyes, the agreed reform package is not tied to specific political parties or coalitions. We see it as a state agenda for modernising the country, as all 14 political parties at the state level pledged to support these reforms by signing a Joint Statement last year.

Reforms will not solve everything, as I have said before. But they are a first step towards making BiH more economically stable and competitive, a step towards creating new jobs and opportunities for young people, and towards addressing some of the injustices and inequalities in society.

One thing is certain: reforms will not be easy. They are technically demanding, and the citizens of BiH do not want change for change's sake; they want change for the better. And this is where we can help.

This year, my embassy will spend over £8 million to support reforms in BiH. That is three times more than two years ago when I arrived in this country. Some of this money will be invested in long-term projects we have been working on for years, such as the selection and training of BiH Armed Forces officers, building the capacity of state-level judicial institutions, and supporting entity governments in developing and implementing their anti-corruption strategies.

We are increasingly aligning our priorities with those in the Reform Agenda. In fact, we have access to a new UK fund called the Good Governance Fund, which we are using almost exclusively for this purpose. This has been of great help as it has provided us with a fast and flexible source of funding that we can use to provide technical support and advice to governments in BiH, just as we do in other countries in the region, including Serbia.

We are trying to focus our support on areas that will make a real and visible difference and can help the public, who are understandably skeptical and suspicious, see the benefits of reforms. Above all, we are directing our money where we believe it can help attract domestic and foreign investment, and create new, sustainable jobs in the private sector. Here are some examples:

- Consultants funded by the United Kingdom have helped relevant ministries at the entity and state levels develop a single, state-level Transport Strategy. We hope this will enable access to EU and other funds amounting to at least 130 million euros for the improvement of roads, railways, airports, bridges, and ports.

- BiH ranks 175th in the world for ease of starting a new company. This deters investors. Together with the World Bank, we plan over the next 3 years to create a new online system that will help entrepreneurs register their companies anywhere in BiH within a maximum of three days, as well as improve regulations to reduce costs for small and medium-sized enterprises.

- We are also working with the World Bank to help governments facilitate trade and exports for BiH producers, especially farmers, by reducing regulatory costs, strengthening quality control, and easing the movement of goods.

- We have provided expert advisors in the areas of economic reform and labour market reform, EU integration, and strategic communications in the offices of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, and the prime ministers of both entities, strengthening their capacity to lead the Reform Agenda.

We support the development of a new strategy and action plan for public administration reform throughout BiH, so that institutions and civil servants are better trained and more prepared to support the implementation of reforms and provide better services to citizens.

We want to improve public awareness of reforms and their purpose. The campaign "Let's Break the Chains" has so far reached 2.5 million people (70% of the population) and inspired nearly a million of you citizens to seek more information online.