The EU is providing €500,000 euro for the training of a new generation of BiH civil servants at all levels of government in order to improve public administration efficiency and transparency.

Head of EU Delegation and EU Special Representative in BiH Ambassador Lars-Gunnar Wigemark today launched a new training program to improve the public administration in BiH and fight corruption from within. Through the SIPPAS project the European Union will fund high-level education for young civil servants in BiH in the areas of EU law, EU integration and anti-corruption.

A master’s course will be conducted at the University of Parthenope in Naples, Italy and will be open to civil servants from all levels of the BiH administration. All information and admission criteria can be found at www.sippas.eu

The initiative is part of the EU’s support to BiH for in public administration reform and strengthening administrative capacities that are necessary for European integration and BiH’s accession to the EU. As highlighted in the European Commission’s Opinion on BiH’s EU membership application, public administration reform and the fight against corruption go hand in hand.

Ambassador Wigemark estimated that up to 2000 civil servants at all levels of government will need to be directly involved in EU integration in the coming years and will need to be trained and experienced enough to bring the country closer to the EU. In this regard, expertise in EU Member States, such as Italy, can make an important contribution in helping to train a new generation of BiH civil servants.

The European Union is funding this project in the amount of €500,000 to help the BiH public administration system in achieving the objective of integration and legislative harmonisation. The “S.I.P.PA.S.” Project foresees the implementation of two Summer Schools (to be held in BiH) and one Master of Arts (hosted in Italy). These courses will focus mainly on the economic, legal and sociological analysis of the phenomenon of corruption in the national as well as in the international framework and European Union strategies for the integration of Member States and Pre-Accession countries, specifically by improving their internal policies on anti-corruption and Public Administration efficiency and transparency.