The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been forced to postpone a crucial summit of Western Balkan prime minister and EU officials, which was scheduled to take place in Neum on 4-5 December, after the selection of the marketing company responsible for organising the event was contested.

The Council of Ministers confirmed on Thursday that preparations for the planned summit had been halted.

The summit was expected to bring together the prime ministers of Western Balkan countries and the new European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, who was expected to use the event as her first opportunity to introduce herself to regional partners and outline her next steps.

The summit was also expected to discuss the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, which the EU plans to support with €6 billion, and the possibility of establishing a common market.

However, none of these discussions will take place for now, the reason for the delay being complicated procedures and poor planning, which is not unusual in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The issue arose because the Council of Ministers issued the tender for the selection of the company responsible for ensuring the technical conditions for the summit too late. After the marketing agency Mindset from Sarajevo was selected, a competing Sarajevo-based company, Mita Group, filed a complaint.

Under BiH's public procurement law, all complaints must be reviewed, and the established timelines make it impossible to resolve the issue before next week.

Defence Minister Zukan Helez told local media that the summit has not been cancelled, but postponed and that it is likely to take place in January.

The fact that such an important summit is being postponed just five days before it was set to occur has sparked numerous reactions and criticism from both the ruling parties and the opposition.