Bosnia and Herzegovina faces significant work to secure EU candidate status

BIJELJINA, (Patria) - A high-level meeting on medium-term socio-economic reforms was held in Bijeljina, attended by representatives of the EU, the international community, and political representatives from BiH. Representatives of donors and international financial institutions also attended the meeting, including representatives of the embassies of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Germany, as well as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Domestic authorities reiterated the country's aspiration to secure candidate status for EU membership and reaffirmed their commitment to developing and implementing policies to address the key socio-economic challenges facing BiH and its citizens, in line with the requirements of the European Commission's Opinion on BiH's application for EU membership;

In line with the conclusions of the Council of the EU on BiH from December 2019, the representative of the European Union reiterated the unequivocal commitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina's perspective in the European Union as a single, indivisible, and sovereign country.

Participants confirmed that the document titled “Joint Socio-Economic Reforms for the period 2019-2022”, adopted by the entity governments on October 10, 2019, and by the Council of Ministers on January 30, 2020, under the title “Socio-Economic Reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period 2020-2022”, represents an important plan for addressing the key socio-economic challenges facing BiH.

"Domestic authorities have agreed to supplement the action plans for the implementation of socio-economic reforms, which have already been adopted by all levels of government, with key short-term socio-economic priorities contained in the Annex to this document. The aforementioned priorities stem from the European Commission's Opinion, the accompanying Analytical Report, and the Joint Conclusions of the Economic and Financial Dialogue. Although each level of government is responsible for implementing measures within its jurisdiction, domestic authorities have reiterated their commitment to improving coordination and cooperation between different levels of government, recognizing the interconnectedness of economic activities throughout the country. This will include, among other things, improving the Economic Reform Programme to present a consistent and consolidated document with analysis and policies for the entire country."

The European Union, leading donors, and international financial institutions have once again confirmed their commitment to supporting the reform process through grants, loans, and technical assistance, based on reform implementation monitoring benchmarks that will be agreed upon later.

In light of the upcoming EU-Western Balkans summit in Zagreb on May 7, 2020, participants agreed to reconvene in a similar format in two months to review the progress of the process and adopt comprehensive action plans for the implementation of socio-economic reforms.

BiH faces the task of addressing the key recommendations from the EC Opinion on Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) application for membership in the European Union (EU), the accompanying Analytical Report, and the Joint Conclusions on the Economic and Financial Dialogue (all published in May 2019). Sixty-six priorities are grouped into thirteen areas within the following nine criteria:

1. Economic Governance
2. Single Economic Area and Business Environment
3. Trade Liberalization
4. Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Transparency of the Public Sector
5. Financial Sector and Monetary Policy
6. Education, Research and Development, and Innovation
7. Energy and Transport
8. Social Policy and Employment
9. Environment and Climate Change