Political leaders of the four BiH Parliaments agreed to strengthen the Parliaments’ role in European integration process and signed the Concept on the cooperation mechanism in the tasks of the EU integration process

At the closing ceremony of the 2-year long EU funded Twinning Project Enhancing the role of parliaments in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the EU integration context the Speakers of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the National Assembly of Republika Srpska and the Assembly of the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina signed the document which establishes a multilevel system of informal cooperation between the BiH Parliaments in relation to the EU integration process. The cooperation is based on mutuality, common work and consensus agreements and actions respecting the constitutional structures. The cooperation mechanism relies on four main levels: the Conference of Speakers, the Parliamentary Forum for EU Integration, the cooperation of sectoral committees, and the administrative cooperation for regular coordination of the EU activities. The concept describes the role, the participants, the scope of activities and the regularity of the cooperation in case of each level.

Beyond this result, decisions were taken by the leaderships of all the four Parliaments that they will implement the project results in Action Plans including 250-300 concrete actions per each Parliament. The Project has elaborated in close cooperation and agreement with the BiH Parliaments several hundred recommendations in all aspects of parliamentary functioning with special regard to the tasks related to the EU integration process. The recommendations call for concrete actions in all the four Parliaments. On the basis of the recommendations, the Twinning Project elaborated customized Action Plans individually to each Parliament. These Action Plans ensure a clear structure and roadmap to enhance the functioning of the BiH Parliaments and to prepare them for the EU integration process. The BiH Parliaments decided in a Joint Statement adopted by the Collegiums of the State and both Entity Parliaments and by the Assembly of Brčko District, that they implement the recommendations of the Twinning Project as described in the Action Plans.

 

Besides the elaboration of concrete actions the Project also implemented a complex training programme with more than 40 seminars and workshops. These events were organized for all four Parliaments in two locations, in Sarajevo and in Banja Luka, while some special training sessions were also organized in Brčko. The Twinning Project offered opportunities for MPs and staff members to have insights into the operations of several parliaments in EU countries by organizing study visits to seven EU Member States and one to EU institutions and in addition internship programmes to two Member States.




Representatives of the implementing EU Member State Parliaments, Mr. István Jakab, Deputy Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly and Mr. Marcel Rogemont, Chairman of the BiH-France Friendship Group in the French National Assembly talked on the event, next to the four BiH beneficiary institutions’ representatives: Mr. Ognjen Tadić, Speaker of the PABiH House of Peoples, Borjana Krišto, Speaker of the House of Representatives of PABiH, Mr. Edin Mušić, Speaker of the PFBiH House of Representatives, Mr. Nedjeljko Čubrilović, Speaker National Assembly of Republika Srpska and Mr. Đorđa Kojić, Speaker of the Brčko District Assembly. Melvin Asin, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to BiH also addressed the audience. The Project’s achievements were presented by Mr. Zoltán Horváth, MS ProjectLeader.
 

Parliamentary Assembly of
Bosnia and Herzegovina

Parliament of the Federation of
Bosnia and Herzegovina

National Assembly of
Republika Srpska

Brčko District Assembly