Cities and regions must be involved from the beginning in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU integration process if reforms are to deliver tangible results for citizens, said Borboly Csaba (RO/EPP), during the fourth meeting of the CoR Working Group on relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, held today in Travnik.
The meeting brought together local and regional representatives from the European Union and Bosnia and Herzegovina to discuss the current state of EU–BiH relations, access to EU funding, local administrative capacity and the role of local and regional authorities in implementing and monitoring the country’s Reform Agenda.
The discussions also focused on how municipalities can make better use of EU programmes and on the contribution of the Local Observatory programme, LORAI, in bringing evidence from the local level into the reform process. The agenda included exchanges with the EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, local authorities, municipal associations and international partners.
“National governments negotiate, but cities and regions make many reforms work. That is why local and regional authorities in BiH must be included at an early stage of the EU negotiations process and their voices must be heard before decisions are made. Better local dialogue means better decisions, based on real needs on the ground and ultimately better public services for citizens,” said Csaba Borboly, Chair of the CoR Working Group on Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Borboly underlined that the purpose of the Working Group is to make sure that local realities are reflected in the European integration process and that cooperation leads to practical follow-up. His press briefing stressed the importance of connecting reforms, funding and local skills, while ensuring that local authorities can identify barriers and bring their needs to the institutions responsible for policy and funding decisions.
Drawing on Croatia’s experience since joining the European Union, Igor Andrović, Prefect of Virovitica-Podravina County, highlighted the concrete benefits EU membership has brought to Croatian regions, cities and municipalities, including investments in infrastructure, schools, healthcare facilities and other public services.
“Croatia’s experience shows what EU membership can mean in very practical terms for regions, cities and municipalities. European funding has helped us invest in infrastructure, modernise schools and healthcare facilities and improve services for our citizens. Bosnia and Herzegovina should move forward decisively on its European path, because every delay risks losing valuable time, opportunities and funding that could already be improving people’s lives,” said Andrović.
Patrik Schwarcz-Kiefer, Member of the County Council of Baranya Vármegye, drew attention to the continued cost of mobile roaming for citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, arguing that removing this barrier would be a concrete and visible step towards bringing citizens closer to the European Union.
“Roaming charges remain an unnecessary burden for citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Removing them should not become a political obstacle or a complicated institutional question. It is a practical issue that can and should be solved as quickly as possible. European integration must also be felt in people’s everyday lives, and eliminating roaming costs would be one very concrete example of that,” said Schwarcz-Kiefer.
The meeting in Travnik followed previous exchanges of the Working Group in Brussels and Bosnia and Herzegovina and continued its focus on strengthening cooperation between EU and BiH local and regional authorities. Borboly stressed that the objective is not simply to hold further meetings, but to translate exchanges into practical results, better-prepared projects and public services that are reliable, affordable and responsive to citizens’ needs.
The programme also included discussions on unlocking EU funding opportunities and building local capacity to access EU funding and programmes, as well as on the role of local and regional authorities in implementing and monitoring the Reform Agenda through LORAI.