Dramatic changes on the electric car market will take place in the upcoming five to ten years and Bosnia must follow those trends, said Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mirko Sarovic on Tuesday at a meeting with representatives of the Federation's Chamber of Economy.

Speaking at the meeting, Sarovic said Bosnia was one of the rare countries in Europe offering no privileges at all for import of electric cars,

“Nearly one million of electric cars was sold last year in the world and this number doubles every year, while only 18 such cars were registered in our country, which is a sufficient warning,” stressed the minister.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, the meeting pointed out the importance of creating the conditions for use of electric cars from the aspect of renewable energy sources but also from the aspect of the pollution prevention.

Bosnia and Herzegovina takes the lead in Europe in the number of deaths caused by air pollution, and it was estimated that 30 percent of the air pollution is caused by the exhaust gases. In regard to that, participants of the meeting launched an initiative of setting a requirement for Euro 4 standard and higher when importing the cars to Bosnia.

Given the obligations Bosnia and Herzegovina has towards the European Union directives in the sector of energy and pollution prevention as well as the world trends in the sector of car industry, the meeting decided it would initiate broader discussions on possible changes of legislation in that sector, said the ministry.