The Conference on the ‘BiH Institutional Anti-Corruption Net’ held today at the BiH Parliamentary Assembly in Sarajevo was opened on 23 September with welcome addresses by Ambassador Peter Sorensen, Head of the EU Delegation to BiH/EU Special Representative, Sead Lisak, Director of the BiH Agency for Prevention of Corruption and Co-ordination of the Fight against Corruption and Marko Vujevic, Advisor to Vjekoslav Bevanda, Chair of the BiH Council of Ministers.
The Conference was organised under the EU-funded project “Strengthening the Capacities of BiH Institutions to Combat and Prevent Corruption” that is part of a broader set of EU efforts aimed at strengthening governance in BiH. This also represents a continuation of EU support in drafting the Anti-corruption Strategy and establishing the BiH Agency for Prevention of Corruption and Co-ordination of the Fight against Corruption.
Corruption is a recognised threat in the EU. Besides being a threat to the rule of law, it is also a threat to the economy and to effective governance and public trust. It generates cynicism, alienates citizens and undermines our way of life.
Why is the fight against corruption so important for BiH?
Firstly, it is addressing a major societal problem. People want integrity. They want a reliable, dependable civil service and honest, caring politicians. This is something all politicians owe to their voters. Secondly, BiH adhered to a number of international conventions – such as the UN Convention against Corruption and the Council of Europe Civil and Criminal Law conventions against corruption. Therefore, specific actions should be taken to fulfil the international obligations BiH has under these legal instruments. Finally, it is a key requirement of the EU accession process. As the experience of the recent EU enlargement demonstrated, effective fight against corruption activities becomes a key requirement for EU accession. Recognising this, the aim of the conference was to present how BiH institutions at all levels started to prevent and combat corruption and to discuss further activities to intensify the fight against corruption.
The implementation of the project “Strengthening the Capacities of BiH Institutions to Combat and Prevent Corruption” started in February 2012 and will end as of November 2013. The main beneficiaries are the BiH Agency for Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of the Fight against Corruption and the state, entity and Brčko District bodies, designated under the Law on the Agency.
To read Ambassador Sorensen speech in full, click here
