Council of Ministers of BiH Begins Making Decisions, BiH Part of European Research and Innovation Programme

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina today at an extraordinary telephone session adopted the Proposal for an international agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union on the participation of BiH in the Union programme Horizon Europe - the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.

This session is the first in a month and a half in which an item was adopted.

As announced after the telephone session with a single agenda item, the proposal of the previously agreed agreement between BiH and the EU will be forwarded to the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina for further procedure, and the Minister of Civil Affairs has been proposed as the signatory.

- The Presidency of BiH has also been proposed to approve the provisional application of this agreement as of the date of its signing, pending the completion of the ratification procedure.

In this way, the Council of Ministers of BiH confirms the continuity of participation in the EU programme for research and innovation since 2009 and creates conditions for the implementation of this agreement, through which the EU has enabled scientific research organisations from BiH to participate in the Horizon Europe Programme from its beginning, on 1 January 2021, and to use their research and innovation potential. The European Union will sign contracts with legal entities from Bosnia and Herzegovina whose projects were approved in the competition procedure during 2021.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has secured the payment of an entry fee for participation in this programme, which in 2021, according to EU estimates, will amount to around 1.5 million euros, with part of it being financed from the IPA fund – announced the Council of Ministers of BiH.

Horizon Europe is a seven-year EU programme, the successor to the Horizon 2020 programme, in which Bosnia and Herzegovina participated as an associated country during the programme period from 2014 to 2020. It is the key EU funding programme for research and innovation with a budget of 95.5 billion euros. The programme, among other things, funds research on climate change, helps achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, increases competitiveness, facilitates cooperation and strengthens the impact of research and innovation on development.