Hahn surprised by FBiH Parliament's decision to support Chinese creditors

(Patria) - European Commissioner for Enlargement Johannes Hahn said he was surprised by the decision of the House of Representatives of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which supported the construction of Block 7 of the Tuzla Thermal Power Plant with Chinese loans.

Hahn stated on Twitter that this raises a serious question about Bosnia and Herzegovina's commitment to international agreements and European rules within the Energy Community Treaty.

"I am sure that the representatives had good reasons for their decision and that they will be able to explain it to their citizens," said Hahn, adding that issues such as environmental impact assessment, state aid, and public procurement procedures will certainly be closely monitored during the opinion-giving process.

The House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament gave Elektroprivreda BiH consent on March 7 for borrowing for the construction of Block 7.

This concerns the consent for Elektroprivreda BiH to incur debt with the Export-Import Bank of China for the Project of constructing Block 7 of the 450 MW Tuzla Thermal Power Plant, specifically for a loan of 1.4 billion KM.

Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn had previously stated in an interview with the Financial Times that he was concerned that some countries were taking very large loans from China to pay for infrastructure, increasing the risk of long-term damage to their fragile economies. According to him, the EU would be a fairer partner.