It is essential to the European Union that every member state has an independent and professional civil service, Maria Farrar-Hockley, Head of the Operations Section for Justice and Home Affairs, Public Administration Reform, of the Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina, told at conference in Sarajevo today. The conference marked the completion of a one-year EU twinning project to strengthen the human-resources management system in the field of civil service training in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“Within the process of accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the EU, Public Administration officials will encounter a major task – which is implementing European laws and regulations, and if they are not well trained, the entire process will be more difficult,” Ms Farrar-Hockley said.

The EU provided 500,000 Euros from IPA funds for the project, and 46 civil servants from 34 institutions went through training before being designated as training managers, which means they will now train other BiH civil servants.

“It is important that in the Progress Report which the European Commission issued for 2010 it was noted that the Civil Service Agency of BiH has improved a lot in capacity building, although it is necessary to invest and work a lot more, and I hope that the 2011 Report will be even more positive,” said Ms Farrar-Hockley.

The Finnish Institute for Public Management (HAUS) provided experts to train BiH civil servants.

“We wish to offer you our support on your way to the EU,” Finnish Ambassador Ari Heikkinen told participants at the conference, adding that Bosnia and Herzegovina is moving closer to the EU, but that this process must be accelerated.

“Skills and techniques are easy to master, but the concept and the way of thinking are more difficult to assimilate,” said Ari Sihvola, Head of the Twinning Project at the EU Delegation. He said that the conceptual elements in the project would produce long-term results.

Neven Akšamija, Director of the Civil Service Agency of BiH, stressed that civil servants who have just completed training will develop training courses and action plans for the institutions where they work.

“EU member states and those aspiring to EU membership, invest significant resources in training their civil servants,’’ said Zdravko Kujundžija, Head of the Training Unit at the BiH Civil Service Agency, noting that if it wants to secure EU membership Bosnia and Herzegovina must also invest in the development and training of its civil servants.