EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Delegation for relations with the countries of South East Europe

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Delegation for relations with the countries of South East Europe PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Joint Committee on European Integration 8 th Interparliamentary Meeting 2-3 May 2006 Banja Luka JOINT STATEMENT by the Chairpersons of the Delegations At the conclusion of the 8 th European Parliament Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina Interparliamentary Meeting, held in Banja Luka on 2 and 3 May 2006, the two delegations: On the political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Stabilisation and Association process and preparations in progress for European integration 1. expressed their deep satisfaction for the formal opening, on 25 November 2005, and the effective start, on 25 January 2006, of negotiations between the EU and BiH for an Association and Stabilisation Agreement; in this context, and also taking into account the forthcoming period running up to the October 2006 parliamentary and presidential elections, called on all the levels of authorities of BiH to do everything in their power to enable the State s Institutions and the Entities to function smoothly and effectively and on all the political and administrative authorities to commit themselves to implementation of the reforms, 2. reaffirmed the European Union accession perspective of BiH, along with the other countries of South East Europe, which will become an integral part of the EU once they have met the established criteria, and that this perspective passes through the Stabilisation and Association Process; noted with satisfaction that the incentive offered by the European Union enlargement strategy has undeniably contributed to the commencement of reforms in BiH, so as in the other countries of South East Europe; pointed out that in order to make definitive progress, reforms need to be both implemented by all relevant actors and consistently pursued over time, an effort requiring unity of political will and determined effort; [FdR 630547] 1

3. looked forward, provided that further significant progress can be recognised by the EU Institutions before and after the forthcoming elections, to the conclusion of an Association and Stabilisation Agreement around the end of 2006/beginning of 2007 according to the welcome optimistic estimations of Commission's officials in November 2005; 4. noted that the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board, at its meeting of 14 December 2005, and the Council of the EU on 20 March 2006, while congratulating the BiH authorities on meeting the conditions for the opening of SAA negotiations, called in particular for concrete progress on developing BiH's legislative framework and administrative capacity, implementation of the police reform, adoption and implementation of all necessary public broadcasting legislation (in particular, entity public broadcasting legislation) and full cooperation with the ICTY; 5. adhering to those congratulations and recommendations and in the light of the Commission's 2005 Progress Report on BiH of 9 November 2005, recalled that the Council of the EU reached, on 12 December 2005, political agreement on the European Partnership with BiH, and that the Government of BiH adopted, on 23 February 2006, the programme of realisation of priorities for the European Partnership; looking forward to its adoption by Parliament, and to periodical reviews by the Council of Ministers, expressed the wish that this crucial document may function effectively as a catalyser for the short and long term priorities it refers to; 6. recalled that, for 2005-2006, EUR100 million has been allocated through CARDS to Bosnia and Herzegovina for assistance priorities which reflect the priorities established in the European Partnership for Bosnia and Herzegovina, with an ever stronger focus on institutional capacity-building and economic development in the following key areas: public administration reform (including customs and taxation), justice and home affairs-related issues (including police reform, integrated border management, judicial reform) improving the investment climate (including trade, education, environment and infrastructure); 7. welcomed the adoption, although delayed, by Parliament of the State budget for 2006 and the State Law on execution of the budget; 8. on education, called on the responsible authorities to fulfil existing commitments and shared the view that the education system as a whole should be a bulwark against ethnic, religious, cultural and any other kind of prejudice or segregation; 9. in the field of refugee and displaced persons return, welcomed the increased regional cooperation to which BiH is concretely committed and encouraged the country's competent authorities to step up their efforts for the return process to be completed and sustainable, also by tackling continuing concerns for the safety of individuals and by ensuring the financial sustainability of the BiH Return Fund; [FdR 630547] 2

On the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the field of Justice and Home Affairs, with particular reference to the reform of the police and the co-operation with the ICTY 10. were pleased that BiH has made significant progress in continuing legal reforms and noted that the security situation in BiH has improved significantly; shared the view that the rule of law reform agenda is more and more important in the context of the State s self-sustainability and preparations for European integration; observed that solid efforts will be needed for entrenching the rule of law and considered that these efforts will have to be backed by solid implementation and institution-building; 11. welcomed progress achieved in the field of the judiciary, to make the system fully responsible, independent and efficient, and progress in fighting organised crime, especially in the improvement of co-operation between the BiH public prosecutor, the police and the State Border Service and hoped that regional co-operation on border controls will be strengthened; took note of the results of the international conference organised on 31 March 2006 in Brussels on the future of the BiH State judicial institutions and hoped that transition to the country's full responsibility of the sector, as well as financing and sufficient staffing, will be ensured and work smoothly; 12. reiterated the importance for the authorities to continue to devote attention and efforts to tackling corruption, since many important cases could escape justice, and to prepare and implement an appropriate anti-corruption plan, as well as to implement consistently the law on the conflict of interests; 13. welcomed the establishment of the Directorate for Police restructuring as a joint temporary authority of the parties in the agreement, in the framework of the activities of implementation of the police reform, and the start, last February, of the project for the provision of technical support and assistance to that Directorate; were confident that police reform would be carried on in accordance with the Agreement on police restructuring, which was adopted by entity parliaments and the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH and no political or administrative authority at either State or Entity level will question the legitimacy of the body nor, in general, any of the implementation measures of the police reform; 14. were confident that the EUPM and EUFOR Missions, the first as a follow-on mission which will focus on both supervising police restructuring and pro-actively fighting organised crime and the latter being a peace-keeping force with a credible deterrent which will align more and more its operations with those of the EUPM, would be able to strengthen local policing capacity and conformity with Community and international human rights standards; 15. emphasised that full co-operation with the ICTY is an obvious prealable to any further movement towards the EU and welcomed the BiH authorities readiness to fully and effectively co-operate with the ICTY; regretted sincerely and considered it shameful for Bosnia and Herzegovina, for Serbia and for the international community that the two most important wanted, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, are still at large ten years after they were indicted; called on the BiH authorities, especially the Republika Srpska authorities, to energetically continue their cooperation process until all remaining indictees are transferred to The Hague; 16. pointed out that the establishment of the War Crimes Chamber, within the BiH Court, represents the recognition of high standards for prosecution of complex criminal cases in BiH; [FdR 630547] 3

17. welcomed the Commission's Communication of 27 January 2006 which envisages, among others, a progressive easing of the visa requirements for the citizens of BiH, as well as for those of the other countries of the Western Balkans, in particular for facilitating the movement of representatives of political institutions, students and business people; called on the current presidency in office of the Council, especially at the 4-5 May 2006 Ministerial Conference EU-Western Balkans in Vienna, and the forthcoming presidency to push through the Council the adoption of the expected directive in this field; 18. welcomed the adoption by Parliament, on 27 March 2006, of the Law on Changes and Amendments to the Law on Ombudsman for Human Rights of BiH which is yet another important merging of Institutions in favour of the State level; On economy 19. recognised that GDP rose significantly in the last years, but expressed concern for the mixed picture of the country's economy, the large trade and current account deficits, the difficulties encountered in the privatisations and the severe fiscal challenges and therefore called on the authorities to address resolutely the overall government interference in the economy and the scaling down of the overly expensive administrative structures, to drive forward the privatisation of large state-owned companies and to facilitate the local building of entrepreneurial talent, the creation of new jobs and further social cohesion which should also contribute to reducing the alarming exodus of youth; considered it urgent to vigorously pursue the achievement of the internal market and the improvement of the business climate; 20. welcomed the entry into force, on 1st January 2006, of the legislation on the Value Added Tax, which represents a major step forward in BiH's efforts to assimilate its economy to those of the EU Member States, and an important move to boost the State's fiscal sustainability; 21. looked forward, with a particular view to the SAA ongoing negotiations, to agriculture reforms and preparations necessary to the opening and integration of markets in BiH, according to EU accession requirements; 22. welcomed the Thessaloniki Ministerial Meeting on Energy, in the framework of the SEECP, and its conclusions of 1st April 2006; 23. encouraged and strongly supported Bosnia and Herzegovina s efforts in the process of trade liberalization in the region building on CEFTA, which would be a useful instrument for all countries in Southeast Europe; On the constitutional reform 24. being aware of all the studies and political activities on the revision of BiH constitutional arrangements, as well as those on the powers of the High Representative, whereas the present institutional framework stemming from the Dayton Peace Agreement would undermine the viability of BiH and represent an obstacle to European integration, took note of the fact that the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly failed, on 26 April 2006, to approve the constitutional amendments which had been agreed by several political parties on a first set of constitutional reforms; considered that those amendments constituted a step forward for the State smooth functioning and would have empowered the State to drive all [FdR 630547] 4

ASA related issues; expressed the wish and the hope that Parliament would rapidly restart the debate on constitutional amendments after October 2006 general elections and that this issue animate reflection and in depth discussion also among the civil society, not only politicians, because it entails dramatic consequences for the sustainability of the State and for the future of its citizens; this means that much more ownership of the process should be demonstrated; 25. welcomed the appointment of Christian Schwarz-Schilling as the new High Representative as from the 31st of January 2006, and his intention to act as the last High Representative, mostly as an advisor to the BiH Institutions and a facilitator, and to act more and more as the EU Special Representative for preparing Bosnia and Herzegovina to European integration and economic development, in view of the transition of the OHR to an Office of the EU Special representative in 2007; took note of the closing down of the OHR Rule of Law department and of the Anti-Crime and Corruption Unit and hoped that the transfert of competences and files to domestic authorities will show fruitful results, confirming that time has come for a scaling down of the international presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina. **** [FdR 630547] 5