High Representative and EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajčák, met today with Claudio Viezzoli, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Director for the Western Balkans, and Giulio Moreno, the Head of the EBRD in BiH.

Welcoming plans to consolidate all EU financial instruments into a ‘one-stop-shop’, the High Representative/EU Special Representative said that EU has shown that it is responsive to the region. Once achieved, this consolidation of European Commission, European Investment Bank, EBRD and Council of Europe Development Bank financial instruments will enable the EU to react faster to BiH’s requirements. Structures within the country will need to ensure that the State is given the capacity to act.

“Bosnia and Herzegovina will have a single reference point which will make access to EU funding both easier and quicker,” Lajčák noted.

The High Representative and EU Special Representative welcomed yesterday’s loan agreement signed between the EBRD and BiH’s authorities. Corridor 5C is the EBRD’s biggest project in the Western Balkans and has a significant regional dimension. “It will pull the region together in terms of transport and communications and thus represent a cohesive factor in economic and political sense,” said the High Representative/EU Special Representative.

During the meeting the High Representative and EU Representative Lajčák emphasised the role of the international financial institutions and of the necessity to maximize the impact of the projects they have on offer.

“Experience has shown that economic transition and the first steps on the association process are tough,” said Lajčák. «BiH must make the most of the assistance being offered to soften the effect on its citizens.

Yesterday HR/EUSR organized a working meeting with Prime Ministers Spiric, Brankovic and Dodik with representatives of the broader international community present in BiH to discuss the more effective implementation of donor projects. The aim was to ensure that BiH makes the most of the support the international community is offering.