Ivanić: BiH Presidency chose the European Union

Members of the BiH Presidency today signed a joint statement on European commitment and necessary reforms, after which the Chairman Mladen Ivanić held a press conference, writes the BiH news agency Patria.

- This statement has nothing to do with any competencies, this is a statement by which two serious countries have given Bosnia and Herzegovina a chance to get candidate status by the end of this mandate - said Ivanić.

He stated that signing the statement shows the commitment of the BiH Presidency to the EU.

Text of the statement:

Aware of the complexity of the socio-economic situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Committed to respecting the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Committed to the principles, values, and goals on which the European Union is based;

Confirming that membership in the European Union is a strategic goal of Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Welcoming the renewed approach of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in accordance with the conclusions of the Council of the European Union for Foreign Affairs of December 15, 2014;

We, the undersigned, declare that we agree and irrevocably commit:

The authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina will implement all reforms necessary to establish institutional functionality and efficiency at all levels of government and enable Bosnia and Herzegovina to prepare for future membership in the European Union as a sovereign state that meets the conditions and obligations for membership in the European Union. Authorities at all levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina will, in accordance with their constitutional competencies, include in their work programs the reforms necessary for the progress of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the accession process to the European Union and will prioritize the timely implementation of these reforms in their actions. An effective and efficient Coordination Mechanism of institutions at all levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the accession process to the European Union will be established as soon as possible.

Authorities at all levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina (institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity and Republika Srpska, Brčko District, and ten cantons), in agreement with the European Union and in accordance with the Copenhagen criteria and the acquis communautaire of the European Union, will prepare and implement, in accordance with their constitutional competencies, a program of measurable initial reform measures, including:

- economic and social measures, within the framework of the Growth and Employment Agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which will aim to stop negative economic trends, initiate the process of rehabilitation and modernization of the economy, stimulate sustainable, efficient, socially just, and balanced economic development, create new jobs, increase and properly direct social protection, and create a favorable and just social environment. Specific measures will be directed towards reforming fiscal policy, indirect taxation policy, and foreign trade policy, reducing tax burdens on labor, removing obstacles to employment, improving the business environment, better investor protection, stronger respect for the rule of law, public administration reform, increasing the transparency of regulations and procedures, reducing opportunities for corruption, improving the process of directing social assistance, and establishing a more effective, efficient, and fair social protection policy. Specific measures will be prepared and implemented in agreement and cooperation with economic and social partners, civil society, the European Union, and international financial institutions;

- measures for building a functional market economy;

- measures to strengthen the rule of law, especially the efficiency of legal state institutions in the fight against corruption, organized crime, and terrorism, and ensuring full legal security for every natural and legal person;

- measures to accelerate the process of reconciliation;

- measures to strengthen administrative capacity, improve functionality, and increase the efficiency of institutions at all levels of government for the adoption and implementation of the acquis communautaire of the European Union and other obligations for membership in the European Union.

Authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina will, in a later phase (after initial reform measures), achieve progress in implementing additional reforms to improve the functionality and increase the efficiency of all levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and will pay special attention to the implementation of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina.