Council of Ministers forced to increase diplomats' salaries due to exchange rate growth of certain currencies

The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, today adopted a Decision on determining the base amount for calculating salaries in diplomatic and consular missions of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2015, reports the Patria news agency.

The adjustment of the base amount was made due to consideration of the situation faced by the diplomatic and consular network, following a drastic rise in exchange rates of certain currencies.

- The increase in the salary budget by 2.4 percent and the increase in allowances by 2 percent in the annual budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina will not result in a new request for additional financial resources, as they can be aligned with the proposed budget for 2015 through a rational staffing dynamic of the diplomatic and consular network - stated the Council of Ministers.

We recall that it was recently reported that the permanent mission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations in New York could soon cease operations because diplomats and officials working there can no longer live on the salaries they receive from Sarajevo.

Bosnian diplomats in New York, as well as those in Washington, found themselves in an unenviable situation due to the constant rise in the exchange rate of the US dollar, and a similar situation previously occurred for employees in Bosnian diplomatic missions in Switzerland, which were affected by the strengthening of the Swiss franc.