For Progress in European Integration, BiH Must Have an Adopted Public Administration Reform Strategy

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - In order for Bosnia and Herzegovina to make progress in the European integration process, it must meet the basic criterion of reforming public administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH has been told in diplomatic contacts, and the Office of the Coordinator for Public Administration Reform has been officially informed.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina informed the Office that, in diplomatic contacts, the European Union pointed out the need to finalize the process of adopting the Public Administration Reform Strategy, noting that the Council of Ministers of BiH adopted the Strategic Framework for Public Administration Reform for the period 2018–2022 in September 2018, and that the governments of the Federation of BiH and Brčko District of BiH adopted the strategy in June 2018, while the strategy has not yet been adopted in the Republika Srpska, the Office of the Coordinator for Public Administration Reform announced.

"We have been warning for some time about the procedure of delaying the adoption of the Strategic Framework for Public Administration Reform and the consequences that follow. Now we have received official confirmation from the EU that any kind of international financial support for this sector will be stopped if this approach continues. Although our officials declaratively say they advocate for reforms, as the Chairman of the BiH Presidency Milorad Dodik said in Brussels regarding the submission of answers to additional questions from the European questionnaire, this reform is essentially being obstructed for political reasons," emphasized Dragan Ćuzulan, Coordinator for Public Administration Reform.

He added that he will inform all levels of government about this letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in order to "try once again to draw attention to the damage being done to the economy and citizens, and to appeal to the RS Government to also adopt the Strategic Framework for PAR, as other levels of government have done, so that we are not the only country in the region that has not met this condition and so that the process of developing an action plan can begin immediately."

"The Office of the Coordinator for PAR of BiH will do everything in its power and competence to remove this obstacle, but the key decision lies with politics," said Ćuzulan, as announced.

The EU warns that the delay in adopting the said Strategy at all levels prevents the development of an Action Plan for the implementation of public administration reform, as well as the implementation of concrete reforms in the public administration sector.

The failure to adopt the Strategy at all levels of government also calls into question international financial support in this sector, since due to the lack of progress in this process, the main international donors – Sweden, Norway and Denmark – have decided to withdraw unused funds from the Public Administration Reform Fund, and these funds, along with IPA, constitute the main financial resource for implementing reforms in the public administration sector.

Also, the EU emphasizes that public administration reform is part of the basic criteria that BiH must meet in order to progress in the EU accession process," the letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states.