Session of the BiH Presidency held: EU membership application officially submitted on February 15

The Presidency of BiH adopted the Decision on submitting the application for membership of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European Union, which will be handed over by the Chair of the Presidency of BiH Dragan Čović to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Bert Koenders, on February 15, 2016, in Brussels, reports the Bosnian news agency Patria.

The Presidency of BiH accepted February 24, 2016, as the date for the official visit of the President of the Republic of Albania, Bujar Nishani, to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Presidency of BiH accepted the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH to initiate procedures for Bosnia and Herzegovina's accession to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). The Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH is authorized to send a letter of intent to the Secretary General of IHRA and the Government of Hungary, the country currently chairing the IHRA, expressing Bosnia and Herzegovina's readiness to begin the accession procedure to the IHRA. The Council of Ministers of BiH is tasked with doing everything necessary to quickly fulfill all necessary conditions for obtaining full member status in the IHRA.

The Presidency of BiH adopted a Decision on extending the mandate of a group of non-commissioned officers of the Armed Forces of BiH in the Resolute Support mission in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. This decision extends, for two more rotations – the rotation mandate is 6 months with the possibility of extension up to one month, the participation of a group of non-commissioned officers of the Armed Forces of BiH in the Resolute Support mission in the IR Afghanistan.

The Presidency of BiH also adopted a Decision on Bosnia and Herzegovina's accession to the Agreement on the Status and Functioning of the International Commission on Missing Persons.

The Presidency of BiH adopted a Decision on accepting the Agreement between the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Government of the Republic of Armenia on visa abolition for holders of diplomatic passports, as well as decisions on accepting the Financing Agreement – Rural Competitiveness Development Program (RCDP), between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the Grant Agreement between the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding the Regional Housing Program – BiH-4 (2015). At the session, decisions were also made on accepting the Protocol between the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Government of the Republic of Italy on the implementation of the Agreement between the European Community and Bosnia and Herzegovina on the readmission of persons residing without authorization, and the Agreement between the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Government of the Republic of Serbia on cooperation in the field of radiation and nuclear safety.

Decisions were made to initiate procedures for conducting negotiations to conclude: the Agreement between the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Government of the Republic of Macedonia on the co-location of diplomatic and consular missions, the Agreement between the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Government of Montenegro on the co-location of diplomatic and consular missions, the Grant Arrangement from the ORIO program for the implementation phase and the operation and maintenance phase – Design and construction of a sewage network and wastewater treatment plant in the city of Bijeljina, between the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Agreement on Amendments and Supplements to the Agreement between the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Government of the Republic of Slovenia on the employment of BiH citizens in the Republic of Slovenia.