Decisions from today's session of the Council of Ministers of BiH

(Patria) - The 53rd session of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina was held today in Sarajevo.

The session requested the BiH Prosecutor's Office to urgently provide the Council of Ministers of BiH, by the next session, with a proposal for resolving the legal issues in the case of Viaduct d.o.o. Portorož, Vladimir Zevnik and Boris Goljevšček v. Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding the enforcement of the ICSID Committee's decision.

The information will include an overview of the obligations of the Council of Ministers of BiH, with the aim of reducing the harmful consequences for the budget of BiH institutions and future steps regarding the fulfillment of obligations arising from the previously signed agreement between the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Government of Republika Srpska, by which Republika Srpska undertook to pay all costs of this arbitration proceeding.

The BiH Prosecutor's Office was also asked for information on the legal resolution of other arbitration proceedings against BiH, including the arbitration proceeding of plaintiffs Pramod Mittal and others v. Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding the investment in Global Ispat Koksna Industrija (GIKIL) d.o.o. Lukavac, for which the governments of the Federation and Tuzla Canton had previously refused to sign an agreement by which they would undertake to provide funds for conducting this arbitration proceeding.

The obligations of the BiH Prosecutor's Office regarding the protection of property and property interests of Bosnia and Herzegovina were once again emphasized at the session.

Support for the Economy

The Council of Ministers of BiH tasked the state ministries of security and foreign affairs to undertake activities with the competent bodies of the European Union (EU) with the aim of exempting drivers from BiH from the restriction of stay in the territory of the European Union.

Previously, at the session, the Information of the Ministry of Communications and Transport on the issue of the limited number of days of stay for drivers in the territory of the European Union, based on Regulation 2018/1806 of the European Parliament and Council on the stay of third-country nationals in the territory of the EU, which does not provide for exceptions, was adopted.

The restriction of stay for drivers in the territory of the EU for a maximum of 90 days in a 180-day period further complicates the execution of transport tasks and negatively affects the overall economy of BiH, according to letters from the Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH and BiH transporters addressed to the Ministry of Communications and Transport.

Resolving this open issue is important for the entire region, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has about 72% of its trade with European Union countries, with international road transport accounting for more than 90%.

Growth in Investments and Exports

The Council of Ministers of BiH adopted the Report of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations on the application and effects of the Decision on temporary suspension and temporary reduction of customs rates for the import of certain goods until December 31, 2023.

The Council of Ministers of BiH made a total of 12 decisions on the temporary suspension and temporary reduction of customs rates for the import of certain goods since the entry into force of the Law on Customs Tariff. The goods to which these decisions relate include materials and raw materials (intermediate goods) used by domestic producers in their own production, which cannot be obtained on the domestic market in the quantities and quality required for the production of finished products.

In this way, more favorable and competitive business operations for economic entities in BiH are enabled, reflected in the growth of revenue and investment, as well as employment, along with growth in production and exports.

The largest number of economic entities, beneficiaries of this decision, were recorded in the wood processing, electrical, printing, chemical, metal processing, food industries, as well as in the textile, leather and footwear, and furniture industries.

The application of this decision resulted in a significant increase in investments, which amounted to KM 210,660,468.35 last year, compared to KM 105,557,000 recorded in 2022, while exports from these companies, despite the global crisis, increased by more than KM 33 million.

Gender Equality

The Council of Ministers of BiH, at the proposal of the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees, adopted the Decision on the establishment of the Steering Committee (SC) for the coordination and monitoring of the implementation of the Gender Action Plan of Bosnia and Herzegovina (GAP BiH) for the period 2023-2027, with amendments at the session.

The Director of the Agency for Gender Equality of BiH, Samra Filipović-Hadžiabdić, was appointed Chairperson of the SC, and the directors of the Gender Centre of the Federation of BiH and the Gender Centre – Centre for Equality and Gender Equality of Republika Srpska, Ana Vuković and Mirjana Lukač, were appointed members.

Information Society

The Council of Ministers of BiH, at the proposal of the Ministry of Communications and Transport, adopted the Decision on amending the Decision on permits for the use of radio frequency spectrum for the provision of services via mobile access systems.

The session also adopted the Decision on supplementing the Decision on the method of distribution of funds from permits for the use of radio frequency spectrum for the provision of services via mobile access systems.

The adoption of these decisions will enable these dedicated funds to be directed towards the information society, in addition to the previously defined transport and communications, thus fulfilling BiH's obligations in the area of broadband internet access development as one of the key goals of the Digital Europe Agenda and thereby increasing the quality and availability of communication services in BiH.

Trgovska Gora

The Council of Ministers of BiH, at the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, adopted the Decision on amending the Decision on appointing the Legal Team for the development of a strategy for the legal protection of the interests of Bosnia and Herzegovina related to the issue of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel disposal at the Trgovska Gora site, which reduces the number of members of this team.

The legal team will continue to work without its previous two members, namely Vitomir Popović, deputy chairman, and member Nedim Ademović, and the former member Dragoljub Reljić has been appointed deputy chairman.
This amendment was made after the Council of Ministers of BiH tasked the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations to, in cooperation with the BiH Prosecutor's Office, initiate the process of selecting an international legal team for legal advisory services regarding this cross-border proceeding.

Cooperation between BiH and Serbia

The Council of Ministers of BiH, at the proposal of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, adopted the Decision on appointing representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Joint Committee for monitoring the implementation of the Memorandum of Cooperation in the Field of Sport and Youth Policy between the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Serbia.

The representatives appointed today from the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the entity ministries of culture and sports, or family, youth and sports, and the Department for Economic Development, Sport and Culture of Brčko District BiH, together with representatives from Serbia, will monitor the implementation of this memorandum by which the two countries strengthen cooperation in the field of sport and youth.

Regulations on Official Vehicles

The Council of Ministers of BiH gave individual approvals for the Draft Regulation on the conditions for procurement and method of use of official vehicles for specialized purposes in the Indirect Taxation Authority (UNO) of BiH and the Draft Regulation on official vehicles for specialized purposes in the State Regulatory Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety.

These regulations stipulate the rights, obligations, and procedures for employees who operate official vehicles for specialized purposes.

The total number of official vehicles for specialized purposes available to the UNO BiH is 368, of which the majority are passenger motor vehicles of lower class (326) with a maximum purchase value of up to KM 50,000.

The regulation of the State Regulatory Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety covers five vehicles, of which three with a purchase value of up to KM 30,000 are used for inspection supervision in the field of radiation and nuclear safety at the Agency's headquarters and offices in Banja Luka and Mostar, and of the two vehicles with a purchase value of up to KM 60,000, one is used for transporting radioactive material and other emergency situations, and the other for official purposes, including receiving foreign delegations.

Horizon Europe Program

The Council of Ministers of BiH adopted the Information of the Ministry of Civil Affairs on the participation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European Union's Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon Europe for 2023.

According to the Information, through two current grants from this ministry last year, a total of 49 projects were supported, namely through the Program for preparing projects and potential candidates for funds from the Horizon Europe fund, 28 projects were supported in the total amount of KM 440,000, while 21 projects were supported with KM 117,000 within the framework of the Grant for Technical Culture and Innovators in BiH.

According to updated data from the European Commission, which includes the results of project evaluations for calls that were open until April 2023, in the period 2021-2023, organizations from BiH submitted 293 applications, of which 234 met the legal and formal criteria.

In total, organizations from BiH signed grant agreements for 29 projects, and EUR 5,229,953 was allocated for projects from BiH, which shows an increase in the participation of BiH entities in this program. The evaluation of projects for calls opened after April 2023 is underway.

Horizon Europe is the EU's key funding program for research and innovation with a budget of EUR 95.5 billion.