Joint statement by the Co-chairpersons after the 17th European Parliament – Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina Interparliamentary Meeting

17th Interparliamentary Meeting 20-21 May 2015, Strasbourg

At the conclusion of the 17th European Parliament – Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina Interparliamentary Meeting, held in Strasbourg on 20 and 21 May 2015, the two delegations:

1. Welcomed the entry into force of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina;

2. Welcomed the fact that the Council has responded to the call for rethinking of the EU’s approach towards BiH; urged the BiH leaders to commit fully to carrying out the necessary institutional, economic and social reforms; called for transparency in the process of planning and implementing reforms and on the inclusion of civil society in the reform process; underlined the fact that BiH, like all other (potential) candidate countries, should be confident on its own merits; the speed and quality of the necessary reforms should determine the timetable for its accession;

3. Stressed that the Commission should pay particular attention to the implementation of the Sejdić-Finci ruling when asked by the Council to prepare an opinion on an EU membership application; invited the Commission to be ready to facilitate an agreement on its implementation in order to guarantee equal rights for all citizens;

4. Strongly supported the European integration of BiH, aware of the conditions for EU accession; stressed that the EU should seek to bring together all financial donors in order to support the efficient implementation of the EU´s renewed approach and the Written Commitment;

5. Called on the political leaders to give priority to establishing an effective EU coordination mechanism, efficiently linking institutions at all governance levels stressed that without such a mechanism the EU accession process will remain deadlocked, particularly regarding the approximation of legislation with the acquis; stressed that the establishment of such a mechanism would open the way for BiH to benefit fully from the funding available;

6. Stressed the need for political reforms and democratisation of the political system; underlined the fact that economic prosperity is only possible if it is based on a democratic and inclusive society and state; recalled that future reforms should take into account the principles of federalism, decentralisation, subsidiarity and legitimate representation, without prejudging a final outcome; urged all political leaders to work on introducing the necessary changes;

7. Welcomed the overwhelming national and international solidarity, including within the EU Floods Recovery Programme, in response to the 2014 natural disasters; welcomed the fact that the EU took immediate and substantial rescue and relief measures; called for effective and coordinated preventive measures at all levels including cooperation with neighbouring countries to address the consequences of the current disasters and to prevent such disasters in the future;

8. Recalled that a professional, effective and merit-based public administration forms the backbone of the integration process of BiH and of any country that aspires to become an EU Member State;

9. Urged the authorities to make the fight against corruption an absolute priority, given that it has not yet resulted in satisfactory improvements and that corruption affects all sectors; urged the competent authorities to improve the track record as regards effective investigation, prosecution and convictions in high-profile corruption cases, especially in the framework of public procurement and privatisation;

10. Urged the leaders of the country to undertake structural and institutional reforms addressing inter alia the harmonisation of the four different legal systems; invited them to address the Commission’s recommendations, such as institutional reform of the state-level judiciary, including on the adoption of a law on the courts of BiH; urged the incoming Council of Ministers to adopt the already prepared new Justice Reform Strategy and to tackle electoral fraud attempts and discriminatory practices;

11. Reaffirmed their support for visa liberalisation, which has brought about visible positive effects for BiH’s citizens; reiterated their commitment to safeguarding the right of visa-free travel for the citizens of the Bosnia and Herzegovina; called on the Commission to adopt measures to maintain the integrity of the visa-free scheme and to address potential abuses of the EU asylum system in cooperation with the Member States;

12. Noted that legal provisions on freedom of expression are in place; expressed concern, however, about political and financial pressure on the media and cases of threats and intimidation against journalists and editors, including during the pre-electoral period; emphasised that stable and sustainable financing, editorial independence, broadcasting in all official languages and pluralism are essential to public-service media editorial independence; stressed that recent events raise concern about freedom of media; stressed that the recent adoption by the RS National Assembly (RSNA) of the controversial Law on Public Order and Peace raised serious concerns about freedom of expression and freedom of the media, including in social media;

13. Considered it essential to enhance the role of civil society, which can complement the development of a socially cohesive and democratic society by delivering vital social services; noted that the institutional mechanisms for cooperation with civil society remain weak; called therefore on transparent and inclusive mechanisms of public consultations on all important legislative decisions and on adopting a national strategy for civil society; noted that civil society representatives should play an important role in facilitating the EU accession process;

14. Considered it essential to foster an inclusive and tolerant BiH society; stressed the fact that civil society in BiH shall stay recognised as crucial and unavoidable; urged to strengthen the Human Rights Ombudsman’s role and to develop, in cooperation with civil society, a strategy against all forms of harassment and discrimination;

15. Called on the new governments at state, entity and cantonal levels to work in close cooperation in order to make economic governance priority of reforms; stressed the need to further develop and implement an economic reform programme; called also to implement labour market reforms in order to tackle the very high unemployment rate with focus on youth, women and long-term unemployment;

16. Considered that BiH has made little progress towards becoming a functioning market economy; emphasised the importance of coping with competitive pressures and market forces; urged the competent authorities to address the weak enforcement of the rule of law, the large informal sector and high levels of corruption, which hamper the business environment;

17. Strongly condemned the violent attack perpetrated on April 27th 2015 on a police station in the Eastern Bosnian town of Zvornik; called on the competent authorities, responsible security agencies and judicial institutions to cooperate in conducting a swift and thorough investigation; expressed hope that all institutions and citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina are able to prevent any form of inter-ethnic tensions;

18. Calls on BiH to fully align its environmental policies with EU environmental standards;

19. Stressed importance of reaching a satisfactory agreement regarding the conclusion of the Agreement on the adaptation of the Interim Agreement/SAA taking into account the maintenance of traditional trade with EU Member States;

20. Expressed their concern that foreign policy of BiH is the subject of different positions that resulted in a low rate of harmonisation with EU positions; reminded on the key importance of unique foreign policy of BiH; welcomed permanent presence of the Althea operation, as a part of renewed UN mandate, focusing on capacity building and training;

21. Called on the authorities to urgently take steps to lay foundations for a single energy market in the country; considered that immediate steps were needed with regard to bringing the country’s legislation on gas and electricity supply in line with the acquis; recalled that the need to promote sustainable use of energy sources, renewables, as well as energy efficiency; underlined that the authorities need to respect the rules and decisions of Energy Community and to take into account EU climate and energy goals for 2020, 2030 and 2050.

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