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Bosnia and Herzegovina - Financial Assistance

 

 

Since 2007 Bosnia and Herzegovina has received EU financial aid under the instrument for pre-accession assistance (IPA). The allocation for 2008 totals €74.8 million.

Here are some highlights of the EU's pre-accession assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina:

- Public administration: The EU supports the Bosnian human resources management (HRM) system in the area of civil service training with €500.000. This helps Bosnia and Herzegovina implement its public administration reform strategy in terms of preparing annual training plans based on personal, organizational and increased efficiency needs. The consolidation of the HRM network is done through a Twinning project, which is one of the EU's principal tools of institution building assistance. Making use of the expertise of an EU member states, the beneficiary country and a member state jointly develop and implement a project in this field.

- Justice and Home Affairs: EC pre-accession assistance supports the construction of a State high-security prison in Bosnia and Herzegovina with €4 million out of a total of around €18.85 million. The facility is designated for high profile individuals sentenced in the field of war crime, organised crime, terrorism and corruption. This project is also supported by other donors such as the Council of Europe Development Bank, the United States, Sweden, and the Netherlands. It contributes to the overall strengthening of the rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

- Civil society: The EU is funding the capacity-building of Civil Society to take part in policy dialogue. This project, endowed with €1.5 million, aims to strengthen the civil society sector to become an effective partner to the government. Civil society should participate in different reform and development processes and assist the government in better understanding the citizens' needs. Civil society initiatives are being supported both under the national IPA programme and by other financing means such as the European Initiative for Democratisation and Human Rights (EIDHR).

- Economic development: The EU supports regional economic development and the development of small and medium enterprises (SME) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The aim of this €4 million project is to stimulate economic growth and generate employment, which should create a basis for sustainable development and economic dialogue in BiH. Moreover, the project is strengthening links between the education system and the economy by creating partnerships and networks.

- Acquis communautaire: One of the areas in which the EU is actively supporting Bosnia and Herzegovina's approximation to the EU is the agricultural and rural sector. The EU contributes not only to the development of a sustainable, competitive and dynamic agriculture, forestry and food sector in BiH, but also to the safety of food and feed to consumers both in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the EU. Moreover, the EU supports the development of agricultural information structures in BiH, which are in line with EU and other international standards of information supply, the purpose of which is to facilitate the policy-making processes in the country. Altogether, €3.5 million are spent on these projects.

Further examples of EU-assisted projects can be found on the selected projects webpage.

 

Annual or multi-annual programmes (depending on the component) are designed in accordance with the strategic MIPDs. They are adopted by the Commission following consultation with the beneficiary countries and other stakeholders. They are implemented in one of three ways: by centralisedassistance is managed by the Commission Headquarters in Brussels , decentralisedassistance is managed by the authorities of the beneficiary country as a result of an accreditation process carried out by the Commission or sharedassistance is managed by the authorities of one of the Member States participating in the cross-border programme management.

In the past, the EU has provided support to Bosnia and Herzegovina under a variety of financial instruments, including Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation (CARDS), macro-financial support and humanitarian aid.

 

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Last update: 02/12/2011 | Top