SARAJEVO
Bosnia stands to lose out on 23 million Euros of EU funds as there is no agreement between local leaders on a strategy for the country for the next seven years, says European Commission Deputy General Director for Enlargement Joost Korte speaking to the media in Sarajevo.
Korte outlined that the money will go to Kosovo instead; “to Kosovo, we will direct 23 million Euros as support to the process of normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. The rest will go for housing of displaced people and refugees. If we had not made these relocation of funds, the money would be completely lost, in the sense that it would have to be returned to the EU budget."
The EC initially planned to allocate 108,84 million Euros through IPA (Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance) funds to Bosnia in 2013.
Korte announced that future IPA funds, that were meant for the Bosnia in the next seven years, are also in danger because of the lack of political agreement between leaders on some crucial questions.
“Our work is suspended because we face the problem all the time. It is just not possible to reach agreement between two entities about the unique strategy for the entire country for the next seven years. We are asking for the coordination mechanism, and it is a very simple request. We just need a body to communicate with, and the body that will speak in one voice with us,” Korte said adding that in order to have this body, local leaders have to agree “and that is something that does not exist in this country.”
“We cannot say how much money could be lost in the future. My estimation is that it can be around 80 million Euros per year within the next seven years,” Korte said.
“All the countries of the region are making progress towards EU accession. Serbia and Kosovo are the best examples, and we can see significant steps forward in Albania, too. In this country, however, there are no significant improvements,” Korte concluded.
Earlier in October, the EU announced the initiation of the procedure of suspension of funds for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The announcement came after leaders of seven parties did not present any common proposition on implementation of the ruling that was issued four years ago by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
The implementation of the ruling is necessary to eliminate an important discrimination against minorities.
IPA funds are the instrument for pre-accession assistance aimed at countries that are both existing and potential candidates for EU membership.
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