Since the war, the EU has invested more than 3.5 billion euros in BiH

The European Union (EU) is the largest single donor of funds and financial assistance in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).

Since 1996 and the end of the armed conflict, the EU has invested more than € 3.5 billion in post-war reconstruction and various projects - from demining through public administration reform, strengthening the rule of law, a sustainable economy and agriculture to cross-border co-operation and investment in other key areas in BiH, according to the framework data of the Delegation of the European Commission in BiH.

Only through EU pre-accession funds in the period from 2007 to 2020, the EU provided about 1.19 billion euros for BiH.

Through the European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU has secured more than 2.4 billion euros in soft loans for BiH since 1999.

EU countries are also the largest trade partner of BiH, to which BiH exports 72 percent of products and from which it imports 61 percent of products, a total of 9.6 billion euros during 2020.

More than 12,000 students, teachers and professors participated in exchange programs from 2014 to 2020. In the same period, about 530m euros were provided to support key sectors in BiH. To support the development of civil society, the EU has provided more than 35m euros for BiH between 2014 and 2020.

"As early as 1997, the European Community viewed BiH as its potential member state. And then there was an understanding of the unquestionable truth that this country is in the heart of Europe. That has not changed. In the past 25 years, the EU has shown its commitment to the European future of BiH through its actions and words. It has provided enormous material assistance, diplomatic support, and billions of euros in financial assistance and investment to help the country on its path to a prosperous and secure future, "Johann Sattler, Head of Delegation and EU Special Representative in BiH, said in a recent blog post immediately after the war he was a member of the European Union Peacekeeping Mission in BiH (EUMM).

Help to beekeepers and repair of railways

The aim of EU financial and technical assistance, previously through programs such as PHARE and RENEWAL, and now through IPA and EIDHR, is to help BiH implement key reforms, which are crucial for both the European integration process and for the overall well-being and quality of life of BiH citizens.

Assistance is realized through numerous programs, from large infrastructure projects to small grants. According to the EU Delegation to BiH, more than 200 contracts are currently being implemented in a wide range of sectors.

In the period from 2007 to 2012 alone, the EU implemented more than 350 projects worth tens of thousands to tens of millions of euros in BiH.

Most of them are 138 projects from the sector of regional and territorial cooperation, among which, for example, projects of waste management, irrigation, youth employment, construction of laboratories for certification of meat or honey for export to the EU and the like.

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For example, the EU first supported the multi-year training of local authorities in BiH to apply for local projects that could be financed from Brussels funds with almost five million euros.

The municipalities of Široki Brijeg, Ljubuški, Posušje, Čapljina and Mostar, in the south of BiH, then improved the local production of medicinal and aromatic herbs through a joint project "Mediterranean Medicinal Herbs", worth about 178,000 euros.

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After that, the laboratory of the Federal Agro-Mediterranean Institute in Mostar received equipment (chromatograph), which enabled that institute to perform plant analyzes, which the producers had to do in Serbia or Croatia before.

The rule of law is the second sector with 75 projects, including the development of anti-corruption networks, strengthening the public procurement system, supporting human rights ombudsmen and reforming the judiciary.

To support the reduction of the backlog of war crimes cases throughout the country, the EU allocated more than 7.9m euros to judicial institutions in BiH in 2012 and 2013 alone. In addition, more than 15m euros have been allocated to reform the courts and prosecutors' offices.

To support the return of refugees and displaced persons, the EU allocated € 7.6 million to BiH from 2007 to 2012, € 10.2 million for demining, while it allocated close to € 11 million to law enforcement agencies and around € 6.6 million for border management.

Six transport projects have been implemented, so the EU, for example, has invested more than 12 million euros in the overhaul of the railway infrastructure from Sarajevo to Samac, in the north of BiH and Capljina in the south of BiH, and for the road infrastructure, specifically the loop on the highway from Doboj to Banja Luka more than nine million euros.

There are eleven projects in the agricultural sector, including the development of a system related to food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary services worth more than 13m euros. The project itself enabled the export of agricultural products to the EU market.

Since 2007, the EU has been providing financial assistance to BiH through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). The total value of EU financial assistance to BiH through the first budget period from 2007 to 2013 is around 594m euros.

The IPA 2 budget period, which lasts from 2014 to 2020, is underway, and the final results are still awaited.

According to the Directorate for EU Integration of BiH, IPA 2 for BiH in the period 2014-2020 allocated funds of about 552 million euros, of which 114.2 million euros for projects in the field of environment, climate change and energy, close to 100 million euros for agriculture and rural development and more than 73 million euros for education and employment projects.

IPA 3 starts on 1 January. The total IPA 1 budget for all beneficiary countries - Albania, BiH, Northern Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey - was around € 11.5 billion, and the ensuing IPA II relied on already achieved results and brought in a new 11.7 billion euros.

The 'eyes and ears' of the EU in the Balkans

BiH is a potential candidate country for EU membership.

Officially, the first steps towards full membership were taken in July 2008 with the signing of the EU-BiH Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA).

In December 2010, BiH entered a visa-free regime with the EU.

The SAA entered into force in June 2015, and the following year BiH submitted an application (application) for EU membership.

During 2019, the European Commission gave its opinion (avis) on BiH's request and at the end of that year gave 14 priorities that BiH should meet before it receives the status of a candidate country.

The EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is the largest and most numerous European mission in the world, is helping the BiH authorities meet the necessary conditions.

The history of the relationship itself is much longer.

The European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) was the first European and international organization sent to BiH, which was then part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, sent after the signing of the Brijuni Agreement on 7 July 1991.

Norway, Slovakia and 15 member states of the European Community (now the European Union) sent 208 observers to Albania and all countries of the former SFRY, with the exception of Slovenia.

Slovenia had already declared independence, on June 25 ,1991, the last Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) soldier left the country by the end of that month, was recognized by EU countries on January 15, 1992, and was admitted to the United Nations on May 22, 1992. .

The headquarters of peace observers for the entire former state was in Sarajevo, with offices in Zagreb, Tirana, Skopje and Belgrade, as well as several smaller offices. They wore white T-shirts, jackets, pants and shoes and rode in white vehicles with a blue-yellow coat of arms, which is why people from Sarajevo immediately gave them the nickname "ice cream vendors".

The mission was led by Irish Colonel Colm Doyle, who arrived in Sarajevo, then still peaceful, on October 1, 1991. War was already raging in Croatia and, for example, the siege of Vukovar lasted for a long time. The village of Ravno, in the south of Herzegovina, on the border with Croatia, was demolished to the ground by JNA forces on October 1, 1991, in its campaign against Dubrovnik.

"We were very worried about what was happening in Croatia. But when I came to Bosnia in October 1991, there was no conflict. So, our main mission was to try to convince all parties not to get into any conflict. But when you have parties that are not interested or committed to peace talks or mediation, you can’t do much unless you want to make a major military intervention. And that will never happen, "Colonel Doyle testified in an interview with Radio Free Europe in 2019.

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In May 1992, Doyle was a negotiator and hostage during the capture of Alija Izetbegović at the Sarajevo airport on May 2, 1992, and the departure of a JNA column from Sarajevo through the then Dobrovoljacka Street.

Namely, the dissolution of Yugoslavia was accompanied by the process of forming parallel power structures. After the elections for the Assembly and the Presidency, and the local assemblies, then still the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, held on November 18, 1990, which were convincingly won by the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) and the Croatian Democratic Union. HDZ) BiH with 84 percent of seats, the Assembly of the Serb People in Bosnia and Herzegovina was formed on October 24, 1991 in Pale near Sarajevo.

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In Grude, a municipality in western Herzegovina, on November 18, 1991, the Croatian Community of Herceg-Bosna was proclaimed.

The European Community adopted the Declaration on Yugoslavia on 16 December 1991, calling on all Yugoslav republics to apply for independent state status by 23 December 1991.

A referendum on BiH's independence was called on January 25th and was held on February 29th and March 1st, 1992, with a boycott of the majority of Serbs and Serb representatives.

On April 6, 1992, the member states of the European Community, and a day later the United States of America, recognized BiH as an independent and sovereign state. On May 22, 1992, BiH became a member of the United Nations. At the same time, armed conflicts in parts of BiH escalated into a war fire.

The first Washington Framework Peace Agreement was signed on March 18, 1994, under the auspices of the United States. It stopped the conflict between the Army of RBiH and the Croatian Defense Council, and in the areas controlled by these armies, the Federation of BiH with ten cantons was formed.

The end of the peace talks in Dayton (USA) on November 21, 1995 and the signing of the Peace Agreement in Paris on December 14, 1995, stopped the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.