Brussels, 29 March 2022
Željana Zovko, Vice Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the European Parliament has filed a parliamentary question to the European Commission regarding financial support to Bosnia and Herzegovina. As rapporteur for the Instrument on Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III), Zovko inquired how this instrument is channelled in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to support projects in the different entities.
The Commission has responded that they provide IPA III assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina as a single, united and sovereign country, to support sectoral reforms on the basis of countrywide strategies.
The official reply states that where competences are shared among different levels of government in the country, strategies and projects are implemented in cooperation among all competent authorities, including at entity and cantonal level.
Furthermore, the Commission clarified that the Director of the Directorate for European Integration of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Council of Ministers is the National Instrument for pre-Accession assistance (IPA) Coordinator (NIPAC), in charge of preparing and submitting applications for funding. Pre-accession support in Bosnia and Herzegovina is implemented via direct management by the EU Delegation. According to the Commission, they do not discuss or fund projects directly nor separately with entity and cantonal authorities.
The official response can be read here: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2022-000532_EN.html
