Following the Conclusions of the EU Foreign Affairs Council published in April 2014, and their call for a broader EU-BiH agenda, the EUSR convened a major conference aimed at helping the economic recovery of Bosnia and Herzegovina on May 26 and 27, 2014.
The Forum for Prosperity and Jobs brought together representatives of government, business and workers, along with international and domestic economic experts and BiH citizens who have insights on running businesses and creating jobs. The conference proposed concrete and urgent measures that can tackle unemployment and corruption, restore the flow of investment into BiH jobs and make the social protection system fairer and more efficient.
The Forum was organised in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Embassy of the United States of America.
These proposals have now been developed into a Compact for Growth and Jobs, a practical agenda recently presented to the BiH public, outlining the necessary economic reform measures: Reduce taxation on work to make it less of a burden to employ new workers; Increase openness and competition in the labour market to make it easier for young people and unemployed people to find work – and to ensure hard work pays off; Slash the requirements for and time taken to start a business; Pass an improved insolvency framework so businesses can be restructured faster; Produce clear, public e-registers of procedures for licences and permits; Reduce the amount of privileged pensions, and raise social assistance for those who really need it.
The six priority reform measures should be implemented by the governments that emerge from the October 2014 general elections. They have been endorsed by the International Financial Institutions and the European Union, which are fully committed to help with their implementation and to provide financial assistance to alleviate their short-term effects
We invite you to share your thoughts on how to bring jobs, investment and prosperity to BiH. A Virtual Forum on Prosperity and Jobs in BiH is available on Facebook and Twitter. Please join the online interactive discussion on how best to improve the economy and bring jobs, investment and prosperity to Bosnia and Herzegovina. You can share your thoughts using the hashtags #EconForumBiH and #CompactforGrowth at:
https://www.facebook.com/EconForumBiH
https://twitter.com/EconForumBiH
