EU-related reforms in agriculture and small and medium-sized business development could help release the potential present in Bosnia and Herzegovina and transform its economy, Valentin Inzko said today in his capacity as the EU Special Representative, adding that until now, the pace and thus the impact of reform has been relatively modest.

“The slow progress in reforming the agricultural sector, which affects the interests of countless BiH citizens, has so far not yet been a major election issue,” the EUSR said, adding that “I believe it ought to be”.

A similar situation applies in the small and medium-sized enterprise sector, he said, noting that Bosnia and Herzegovina has just seven SMEs per 1,000 inhabitants – compared to 14 per thousand in Croatia and 86 per thousand in Hungary. Bosnia and Herzegovina is lagging far behind its neighbours in developing a sector which holds massive job-creation potential – and “this in a country with more than half a million unemployed!”

It is up to Members of Parliament and politicians to explain to the electorate why these job-creating initiatives have languished.

The EUSR was speaking in Sarajevo at a session of the Parliament for Europe dedicated to reform in the areas of agriculture and small and medium-sized enterprises. “Parliament for Europe” is a EUSR initiative that brings BiH parliamentarians together with MPs from EU member states to discuss ways of taking the European accession process forward.

The full text of the HR/EUSR’s speech can be accessed at www.eusrbih.eu