“The European Commission deeply regrets that the House of Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina did not adopt the Law on the Census of Population, Households and Dwellings. The law elaborated by the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina together with the European Commission’s experts is in compliance with EU requirements and international standards.

The European Commission calls upon the political leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina to find a compromise for the adoption of this law. The lack of a census in 2011 would be unfortunate for Bosnia and Herzegovina in terms of its EU perspective. Moreover, it would make it more difficult to solve important socio-economic questions because of the lack of reliable statistical data.

The European Commission would like to clarify that the reply to questions on national/ethnic and religious affiliation is not obligatory.

The whole EU, the Western Balkan countries and many other European States will carry out a census in 2011. Bosnia and Herzegovina risks to be a country that will not be part of the international community in this important exercise.

The census of 2011 is crucial for the economic and social planning and development of each country and for Europe as a whole. The same internationally recognised criteria apply in all participating States, such as the dealing with the requirement to compute in the total population only persons usually resident in that country at the census night (31 March 2011). This applies to all usual residents, including those forced to move in the past. Persons who have not lived in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 12 months before the census night cannot be taken into account in the census in Bosnia and Herzegovina, although it is their home country. This would leave to double counting and thus falsify the overall results. Information on the number of Bosnians living in the EU can be obtained by the census results of the EU Member States.”