Stronger political support is needed to steer public administration reform in the FBiH and across the whole of BiH, it was reiterated at a roundtable with FBiH institutions, Cantonal coordinators and relevant government representatives held in Sarajevo on 28 February 2020.

The FBiH level and Cantons need to closely coordinate legislative developments in this area, Head of the EU Integration Section at the EU Delegation to BiH Krassimir Nikolov emphasised, with principles of public administration of the EU-OECD SIGMA programme serving as guidelines.

“From the EU point of view, the changes must be conducted in a coordinated and harmonised way so that the country moves forward in one front. That is why the adoption of the country-wide strategic framework for PAR, together with the common action plan that is being developed at the moment is crucial,” Nikolov underlined.

The purpose of the joint meeting, facilitated by SIGMA and the first of its kind, was to bring together all relevant actors working on public administration reform across the FBiH to discuss the harmonisation process of civil service legislation and possibilities for improving coordination. The EU remains ready to provide support through IPA funds, TAIEX assistance and expertise on different legislative proposals coming forward.