Bosnian politicians should immediately unblock the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) funds so they can be used for the good of the citizens and the government should issue the second decision authorizing the disbursement according to the agreement captured in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), without embellishment, the EU and US Embassy in Bosnia said in a joint statement on Thursday.
The EU and U.S. Embassy the country recalled that they hosted a meeting with political representatives to remove political blockages and focus their minds on dealing with the socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 crisis, adding that just when they thought they succeeded they realised that the €330 million Bosnia received from the IMF's Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) sits idle in the Central Bank while citizens suffer. “Now we see otherwise,” the statement said.
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“On 23 April the Council of Ministers (CoM – the official name of Bosnia's government) issued a decision authorizing a promissory note that unlocked the transfer of the 330-million-Euro from the IMF to Bosnia. This same decision, however, required a second special decision to allocate the funds in accordance with the Letter of Intent sent from Bosnia to the IMF. The CoM has yet to issue this second decision and the funds sit idle in the Central Bank,” the statement said, warning that “this is incomprehensible to Bosnian citizens, but also to international partners.”
They recalled that the IMF agreement was with Bosnia's two entities, the Bosniak-Croat Federation (FBiH) entity and the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska (RS) entity, as well as with District Brcko. The distribution of funds to Cantons is a decision made at the entity level, the statement said, and this was accomplished when the Federation entity passed its budget rebalance.
“The international community has reacted swiftly and decisively to provide medical support and designing programmes for economic support. The world economy faces a slump and so does Bosnia. The effects are being felt by countless citizens and businesses. Bosnian authorities must take decisive and timely actions to preserve jobs, offer social assistance to those affected the most, and to support economic growth and the development this country desperately needs. This includes agreement on using the 330-million-Euro in assistance from the IMF,” the EU and US Embassy said.
Acting decisively now will send a sign to the outside world that Bosnian politicians are responsible partners to their citizens in dealing with the challenges the country will face, they concluded.
