Council of Ministers of BiH gave consent for the appointment of John J. Olivera as Assistant US Envoy to BiH

(Patria) - The 57th session of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina was held in Sarajevo today.

The Council of Ministers of BiH determined the Proposal of the Decision on the ratification of the International Agreement of the European Union, on the one hand, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the other, on the participation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the EU program Digital Europe (2021-2027), which was signed on behalf of BiH by the Minister of Communications and Transport Edin Forto on June 4, 2024.

Joining the Digital Europe program allows Bosnia and Herzegovina access to strategic EU funds important for addressing global digital challenges.

Focusing on areas such as supercomputing, artificial intelligence, advanced digital skills, and wider application of digital technologies, this program allows legal entities in BiH to apply equally with entities from EU member states for grants from EU funds to finance projects in these areas of digitalization. This will certainly accelerate the economic recovery and digital transformation of BiH society and economy.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will submit the Proposal of this decision to the Presidency of BiH for further ratification procedure.

Readmission Agreement BiH and EU

The Council of Ministers of BiH adopted the Protocol between the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on the implementation of the Agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Community on the readmission of persons residing without permission, with the Report on negotiations for its conclusion.

In this way, the two countries strengthen cooperation in the field of security with a focus on ensuring public order and combating crime in the area of migration, thereby creating conditions for more successful implementation of the Agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Community on the readmission of persons residing without permission.

The Report on negotiations, along with the text of the Protocol, will be submitted to the Presidency of BiH for further decision-making procedure, and the Minister of Security has been proposed as the signatory on behalf of BiH.

Deadline for withdrawal of funds

The Council of Ministers of BiH determined the Proposal of Amendment No. 1 to the Financing Agreement (Water Supply and Sewerage in Republika Srpska II.) concluded by and between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, and the European Investment Bank, on December 17, 2019, in Sarajevo and December 20, 2019, in Banja Luka - operation number (SERAPIS N*): 2018-0281; agreement number: (FI N*) 90.345.

This amendment extends the deadline for withdrawal of funds under the loan from the previously agreed December 20, 2024, to December 31, 2027, and the final deadline for project implementation will be June 30, 2028.

The Proposal of Amendment, along with the Basis for its conclusion, will be submitted to the Presidency of BiH, and the Minister of Finance and Treasury has been proposed as the signatory for BiH.

Labor Market

The Council of Ministers of BiH adopted the Decision on the adoption of the Plan of Guidelines for Labor Market Policies and Active Employment Measures in Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2024, with the aim of planned regulation of the actions of competent institutions in this area.

The Plan contains priority objectives and guidelines for labor market policies, including active employment measures.

The Employment Service of BiH, the Federal Employment Service, the Employment Service of Republika Srpska, the Employment Service of Brčko District of BiH, and other competent institutions are responsible for the implementation of this decision, according to their competences.

Among the numerous activities being implemented to reduce unemployment in BiH are the prompt and efficient execution of tasks for the realization of rights of the unemployed and timely payment of realized material rights, improvement of active employment policy programs/measures with the aim of effective integration of unemployed persons into the labor market, and undertaking measures to improve labor market trends.

Mine-affected areas in BiH

At the session, the Demining Plan in Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2024 was adopted, and the Commission for Demining in BiH and the Mine Action Center in BiH (BHMAC) were tasked with submitting a comprehensive plan to the Council of Ministers of BiH within 60 days, which will contain activities, planned funds, and deadlines, i.e., the dynamics for completing the demining process of suspected mine-affected areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to estimates made in January 2024, the suspected dangerous area for mines in Bosnia and Herzegovina amounted to 838 square kilometers, which represents 1.63% of the total area of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2024, it should be reduced by 145.40 square kilometers, as planned to be returned by the Demining Plan, and will amount to 692.60 square kilometers.

Female police officers recognized in the oath text

In order to achieve gender equality in police agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Instruction on supplementing the Instruction on the manner of taking and the text of the oath of police officers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, proposed by the Ministry of Security, was adopted at the session.

In this way, the initiative of the Association "Network of Female Police Officers" was accepted to amend the text of the police officers' oath by introducing gender-sensitive language, so that female police officers are recognized and visible during their recruitment and start of work, as well as during their further work in the police body.

"Denis Mrnjavac": Monetary award for students

The Council of Ministers of BiH, at the proposal of the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees, adopted the Decision on supplementing the Decision on establishing the "Denis Mrnjavac" award for the promotion of tolerance and non-violence, which introduces a monetary award of 1,500 KM for each awarded student.

Previously, the Council of Ministers of BiH established the "Denis Mrnjavac" award as an annual award for the promotion of tolerance, humane, and non-violent behavior.

The award is given to one high school student from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one from Republika Srpska, and one from Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who have contributed to the promotion of human rights, tolerance, and mutual respect and non-violence among youth.

The award is given in the form of a sculpture, a special recognition - a plaque, and a special recognition for the school of the awarded student. The introduction of a monetary award aims to further motivate students to achieve even better results in these areas.

Migration Profile for 2023

At the proposal of the Ministry of Security, the Migration Profile of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2023 was adopted in a new text, in the process of fulfilling the obligations from the Roadmap for visa liberalization regarding its regular updating and ensuring insight into key trends in migration.

The Migration Profile states that BiH diplomatic-consular missions issued 21,261 in the past year compared to 22,765 in 2022, and the number of visas issued at the BiH border also decreased, with 18 in 2023, while 27 visas were issued in 2022.

The BiH Border Police refused 2,160 entries into BiH last year, which is a decrease of 15.26% compared to 2022, when 2,549 entries were refused.

The number of detected illegal border crossings of BiH in 2023 was 13,643 (6,110 illegal entries and 7,533 illegal exits from BiH) and decreased by 4.65% compared to 2022.

Foreign nationals were granted 13,481 temporary stays in BiH in 2023 compared to 11,188 in 2022, and during this period, 446 permanent stays were granted to foreigners compared to 390 in 2022.

The number of cancellations of visa-free or temporary stays increased by 71.6%, and last year it amounted to 882, compared to 514 the year before.

The number of expulsion orders increased by 57.63%, with 2,582 last year compared to 1,638 the previous year.

Last year, 28 cancellations of visa-free or temporary stay with an expulsion measure were recorded, which is an increase of more than 86% compared to 2022, when 15 were issued.

In accordance with readmission agreements, 402 BiH citizens were accepted last year, while under the Readmission Agreement with the Republic of Croatia, 4,264 third-country nationals were accepted in the procedure carried out by the Service for Foreigners' Affairs, which is an increase of 410% compared to the previous year when this number was 836 foreign nationals.

"Viaduct" case

The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, due to the lack of consensus in the second round of voting, did not adopt the Proposal of the BiH Ombudsman for resolving specific legal issues related to the execution of the ICSID Tribunal's judgment in the case of Viaduct d.o.o. Portorož, Vladimir Zevnik and Boris Goljevšček, represented by the law firm Baroš, Bičakčić & partneri, against Bosnia and Herzegovina (ICSID Case No. ARB/16/36) dated April 18, 2022.

This means that the proposal to undertake activities to reduce the harmful consequences for the budget of BiH institutions resulting from the ICSID tribunal's judgment in this case was not adopted.

Commission for Demining

The Council of Ministers of BiH, at the proposal of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, adopted the Decision on the appointment of members of the Commission for Demining in BiH, in order to enable the further implementation of demining activities in our country, given that the mandate of the previous members expired on July 28, 2024.

Ivana Lesko, Ognjen Zekić, and Elmir Grebović have been appointed as new members of the Commission for Demining in BiH for a period of two years.

Current Reserve

The Council of Ministers of BiH adopted the Information of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury on the distribution and use of current reserve funds for the period I - III 2024, which will be submitted to the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH for further procedure.

In the first quarter of 2024, there were no decisions by the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Presidency of BiH on approving the current reserve, so the planned amount for this period remained unspent in the amount of 2,297,250 KM.

The current reserve item for 2024 has a planned total amount of 9,189,000 KM, of which 2,297,250 KM or 1/4 is for the first quarter.

Appointment of Assistant US Envoy

At the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, consent was given for the appointment of Major John J. Olivera to the position of Assistant Envoy of the United States of America to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Regarding the dismissal of Galić

At the session, the request of the Deputy Director of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), Zoran Galić, for dismissal from duty at his personal request, submitted to the Council of Ministers of BiH through a law firm, was considered and sent to the Independent Body of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH for urgent clarification.

The Independent Body, which proposed the appointment of Zoran Galić, was asked to clarify the legal procedure regarding the submitted request for dismissal at personal request, and to provide information on this to the Council of Ministers of BiH.

Official Vehicles

The Council of Ministers of BiH gave consent to the Proposal of the Rulebook on the conditions for procurement and the manner of use of official specialized vehicles in the Directorate for the Coordination of Police Bodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which plans the procurement of specialized vehicles to ensure the unimpeded performance of duties within the jurisdiction of this police agency.

Agreement with Serbia and Croatia

The Council of Ministers of BiH did not support the conclusion of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH, which requested the Ministry of Security of BiH to initiate procedures for the revision of police cooperation agreements previously concluded with the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Croatia.