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SARAJEVO, March 30 (FENA) – The European Union and the Council of Europe will continue to support the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina in their reform processes and in their efforts to meet European standards.
This was underlined in today’s second meeting of the Beneficiary Steering Committee of the joint EU/CoE program “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”.
Promoting an inclusive society in Bosnia and Herzegovina where everyone’s human rights are respected and no one is left behind, enhancing the protection of human rights for all, including people deprived of their liberty, and strengthening freedom of media and freedom of expression will remain in the focus of five actions implemented under this program.
The budget allocated to Bosnia and Herzegovina within the Horizontal Facility initiative amounts to EUR 3.67 million.
Bojana Urumova, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Sarajevo, underlined the essential role of institutions, partners and civil society in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the advancement of reforms.
“I am very grateful for the fruitful co-operation with the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union Delegation in Sarajevo. Thanks to this strong partnership and the commitment everyone has demonstrated, we have managed to continue with our interventions and achieve tangible results, despite the challenges encountered during this past year”, she said in her welcoming remarks.
Almir Šahović, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina said that this joint EU and Council of Europe program is one of the most useful programs available to the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He pointed out, the synergies established within the program allow Bosnia and Herzegovina to achieve several main goals.
"Thanks to this program and its actions, we are striving to adjust all areas of society to European standards, which in parallel leads to the acceleration on our European path and contributes to the fulfillment of 14 key priorities identified in the European Commission’s opinion," he added.
Nicolas Bizel, Head of Operations Section for Justice and Home Affairs and Public Administration Reform of the EU Delegation to BiH, praised the commitment from the BiH Institutions that kept the level of ambition at the highest level in spite of the difficult working conditions that we all faced last year.
He also highlighted that the expertise of the Council of Europe is fundamental as it can really assist the country in its key reforms in its accession process.
The importance of reinforcing the ownership of beneficiary institutions to progress on the domestic reform agenda and maximize the impact of the program was underlined by Delphine Freymann, Head of Division, Programming Co-ordination Division, Office of the Directorate General of Programmes of the Council of Europe.
“The Council of Europe, in a spirit of partnership with the European Union and the beneficiary institutions, is committed to supporting Bosnia and Herzegovina at a turning point to move along with its reform agenda and advance on its EU path and compliance with Council of Europe standards”, she concluded, announced the Horizontal Facility program in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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