Zvizdić avoids answer: No concrete steps yet on forming BiH Ministry of Agriculture

Denis Zvizdić, Chairman of the Council of Ministers, in his exposé when addressing deputies in the Parliament of BiH, among other things, emphasized that one of his priorities in his work will be the formation of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Education at the BiH level, so some deputies at the last session of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly wondered whether anything had been done on this issue and whether they have the support of coalition partners from the RS, writes the Patria news agency.

Zvizdić responded in writing to deputy Miroslav Milovanović of the SNSD and reiterated that the formation of the Ministry of Agriculture at the state level is a necessary step, because agriculture faces challenges related to fulfilling the obligations undertaken on the path to the EU, as the accession process inevitably requires adaptation and reform of the agricultural sector.

- If anyone thinks that BiH can become part of European integration processes, that it can draw funds from the EU, while remaining fragmented, not only in the segment of agriculture but in every other segment, they are certainly mistaken. So, we will not allow that - Zvizdić stated.

The European Union, Zvizdić notes, has very clear rules, very clear procedures, and it has already shown us this within a significant Western Balkan Investment Fund that has over 10 billion euros and where we have so far been able to apply only with transport infrastructure projects, because we adopted the Transport Policy, and the adoption of the Transport Strategy is expected.

There are three more sectors, such as energy, environment, and social issues, and we will not be allowed to nominate any project without state-level strategies and without certain procedures that will mean stronger harmonization in that area - added Zvizdić.

However, in his response, Zvizdić did not specifically answer what is being done to achieve the goal, with the end result being a state Ministry of Agriculture, nor whether there is support from the RS for this.

Therefore, it can be concluded that the Council of Ministers has not yet initiated the issue of forming the Ministry of Agriculture at the state level.