Interview conducted by the Public Administration Reform Coordinator’s Office of BiH

BiH received the Commission Opinion on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s application for membership of the European Union last year. How fast is BiH moving towards the EU when it comes to meeting the requirements related to public administration reform?

Public administration reform (PAR), together with the rule of law, is at the foundation of building democratic principles. PAR has been given greatest importance in the European Commission’s Opinion by being listed as one of the 14 key priorities. While the areas of PAR are vast, in formulating this key priority, the Commission has focused in particular on accomplishing essential steps towards a professional and de-politicised civil service and on the development of a coordinated country-wide approach to policy making. Clearly, BiH is still at an early stage of public administration reform. Since the publication of the Opinion, we have not noticed substantive efforts by BiH institutions to address the 14th priority. The Commission will make a detailed assessment in its regular Country Report, due in June, and will once more provide guidelines on reform priorities.

Do you believe that the actual COVID 19 crisis is in fact an opportunity for the BiH authorities to finally reform the administration and show responsibility towards the citizens?

Yes, the COVID-19 crisis has shown that having a good administration is important for dealing with the emergencies and with socio-economic implications. This crisis is also a litmus test for the capacity of public administration in this country to respond to citizens’ needs. This requires political support at the highest level for a coordinated approach on PAR. I invite the media, civil society and citizens to vigilantly monitor the actions of decision-makers. The crisis is not the time to undermine public trust in government, and political disputes should not prevent closer cooperation at this time of ordeal. Efficient crisis management requires sound coordination between all authorities.

How do you in the Delegation of the European Union to BiH view the fact that BiH (actually only one entity) does not follow recommendations BiH received from the European Commission, specifically when it comes to adopting a country-wide framework for the public administration reform?

The adoption of the countrywide frameworks and action plans for public administration reform and public financial management are crucial, indeed. But this is only one of the many recommendations that vary from ensuring professional, merit-based civil service to establishing a political decision-making body to steer and coordinate these reforms. I recommend everyone to read the Opinion and the Analytical Report. There is a lot of work to be done at all levels. We in the EU Delegation are here to support you. For success, political commitment is required. Insufficient political support by all levels of government has so far hindered the coordinated implementation of reforms.

You know very well that over half of the timeframe of the current Strategic Framework on PAR (2018-2022) has passed. Representatives of all levels of government invested significant efforts to the drafting of the Strategic Framework, and the path to its completion was walked together in agreement, until its adoption got blocked. I understand that the non-adoption by Banja Luka was dictated by substantive reasons. The first concern quoted in discussions is unsatisfactory management of the PAR Fund. But when you dig deeper, you realize that there are broader problems related to PAR coordination arrangements and the inadequate involvement of the political level of decision-making. I knocked on many doors during the past four months and talked to many stakeholders – at state level, in Brcko, in the Federation and in Banja Luka – and I reached out to political level (ministers and cabinet members) as well as PAR coordinators and senior administrators. I can safely conclude that these two areas – coordination arrangements and managing the fund – should be subject for discussion together. Let us not forget that discussions on a single issue tend to produce winners and losers, and that is not what we need. All partners should be ready to make compromises and even sacrifices in order to move forward together.

The moment for such constructive discussions is very opportune. Let me mention three positive indicators: First, Mr. Zoran Tegeltija, in his first speech in the parliament last December, stated clearly that public administration reform will be a top priority for his government. This is a welcome claim for political ownership. Second, even in the current situation, all levels of government have been actively participating in drafting the main implementation instrument on PAR – the Action Plan. We in the EU Delegation have always been present in support of these efforts and have provided technical assistance. We are glad to see a positive result – this document is almost ready and will soon be submitted to all governments for approval. Third, positive signals have been coming from colleagues in Banja Luka, too – in deliberations they have never challenged the substance of the Strategic Framework, and they have also paid some of their long overdue installments to the PAR fund.

I hope that you, all colleagues working on PAR in this country, will share my conviction that the current stalemate should be overcome. Probably a thought should be given to the possibility of extending the validity of the Strategic Framework and its Action Plan, if this will not pose political or legal problems. No more time should be wasted; all further action should be geared to the implementation of agreed reforms. The strategic objective should be to ensure such a quality of this country’s public administration that will enable its integration into the European Administrative Space. We in the EU Delegation will join you in your efforts by facilitation and by providing technical expertise and potential options on concrete issues with the help of our on-going IPA assistance.

What will happen if BiH continues to refuse the implementation of your recommendations regarding the public administration reform?

Countries aspiring for EU accession need to deliver on the reforms they promised, and the EU needs to deliver when they do. Credibility of enlargement is one of its main principles. The EU is ready to continue helping BiH on its EU path with political, financial and technical support. EU support will make it easier for the country to make progress in meeting the well-established requirements of membership, in particular implementing far-reaching reforms and aligning with EU rules and regulations to the benefit of all its citizens.

The failure of the authorities to implement long pending reforms will negatively affect the quality of life of everybody in BiH, the quality of services to citizens, businesses, investors and consumers, and the country will continue to fall behind the rest of the region.

The main consequence of protracting, resisting or passively obstructing reforms in public administration is serious loss of credibility and confidence, both domestically and internationally. Your citizens and your economic operators are acutely aware of the problems in this field. When I talk to them, they cut short their complaints about practical inadequacies, such as lengthy procedures, and they immediately point at the core impediment – politicization. If there is no tangible progress in reforms, both your citizens and your businesses will be increasingly looking for options for life and entrepreneurship not in BiH but elsewhere.

Yes, I’m critical when I talk about non-implementation of recommendations, but I do this in full awareness that the EU has supported and will support your country in the area of public administration reform all along the way, depending on tangible results, by providing expertise and financial assistance. We are currently financing ongoing IPA projects in this field with 12,5 million euro, and soon this amount will be increased by another 3,5 million euro.

You have regular meetings with embassies of the EU countries. Did you have a chance to discuss at these meetings the Public Administration Reform Fund, which has been inactive for a long time already? Are the donors still interested in investing in the Fund and under what conditions?

The EU and those international donors that invest in PAR have very good coordination and keep meeting regularly. The PAR Fund was an important instrument to pool together the funding, and a mechanism to coordinate between the donors and BiH authorities in implementing agreed policy objectives. Not having it is a loss.

The management of the PAR Fund will most likely be discussed among all stakeholders now. I think that discussions should be guided by two important principles: First, when implementing actions planned in jointly agreed policy documents, the fund should ensure balanced financing for projects on all OECD/SIGMA PAR principles: policy development and planning, civil service development, accountability, service delivery and public finance management. Second, financing common projects, in which all partners can and should participate, could be complemented by the possibility for individual pilot projects.

Adopting the PAR Strategic Framework and its Action Plan by everyone, as well as finding solutions for better coordination arrangements and the good management of the fund, would be seen by the EU and other international donors as a signal that BiH decision-makers are committed to further reform efforts. This would motivate international donors to make financial commitments. Please, don’t have the illusion that international donors will offer money for public administration reform only out of compassion and humanitarian solidarity, like financial support is offered unconditionally now, to save lives and the economy during the corona-virus crisis. If donors conclude that you are not credible in building up a de-politicized, professional and accountable administrative system, they will start directing their support elsewhere.

The PAR fund cannot be only donor-driven. Increasing political ownership for PAR requires credible budgetary ownership, that is, increased budgetary contributions from all levels of government in BiH. This is an objective that needs political commitment across the board.

What are your expectations from the third meeting of the Public Administration Reform Special group planned for July this year?

This is the first PAR Special Group after the publication of the Commission’s Opinion, and it is an opportunity for the country’s political leadership. PAR is not only a technocratic endeavour but is first and foremost a political one. We would like this meeting to demonstrate stronger political commitment on PAR. So far, BiH is the only country in the region where ministers have not taken part in the PAR Special Group. That is why we are inviting ministers in charge of PAR at all levels to agree on future actions to comply with key priority 14 of the Opinion, as well as Analytical Report recommendations. Therefore, we look forward to BiH authorities reaching an agreement on (i) adopting the Strategic Framework and its Action Plan to provide a credible reform direction on PAR, (ii) establishing a political-level body to take ownership and steer the reform process in a coordinated way, and (iii) enhancing the process of harmonisation of civil service laws for a coordinated approach on professional standards for employees.

In February this year, the European Commission proposed a new and stricter methodology for the EU accession negotiations. Official information received from Brussels said that the European Commission would now insist even more on respecting the rule of law, and therefore on public administration reform. Do you think that the new methodology could additionally slow the path of BiH towards the EU or could this mean acceleration of applying the European standards in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

The new methodology presents the Commission’s proposals to strengthen the EU accession process. It aims to make the enlargement process more credible, predictable, dynamic and subject to stronger political steering. In light of this methodology, we have also emphasized the political nature of the dialogues and invited ministers in the PAR Special Group. The Commission’s proposal reconfirms the central role that public administration reform plays among “the fundamentals” of the enlargement process. In this sense, public administration reform will be on an equal footing with the other fundamentals. As for accelerating or slowing down the movement of BiH towards EU membership, this will depend on tangible reform steps taken by the public authorities in this country, not on the new methodology.