EU grants €1m to streamline Bosnia's customs and border operations

The 18-month project, titled "Continued Support to the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH", was officially presented in Banja Luka. Implementation will be led by a consortium comprising the Customs Administration of Croatia’s Ministry of Finance and the Croatian Tax Administration, alongside Slovenia’s Financial Administration and the Central Finance and Contracting Agency (SAFU).

Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Adebayo Babajide, stated that the initiative aims to align ITA capacities with European standards through expert knowledge exchanges with Croatian and Slovenian counterparts. He noted that preparing the country for the Convention on a Common Transit Procedure will deliver simpler and more efficient cross-border trade.

ITA Director Zoran Tegeltija highlighted that this marks the eighth joint project between the institution and the EU. He emphasised that technical and professional readiness is essential as Bosnia prepares to open EU negotiation chapters, particularly those governing customs and tax policy. Tegeltija added that a primary objective remains speeding up border transit times with neighbouring Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro.

Director of the Croatian Customs Administration, Mario Demirovic, underlined the strategic importance of the collaboration, noting that the frontier between Croatia and Bosnia represents the busiest freight border between an EU member state and a non-EU country. He expressed confidence that harmonised procedures and joint workshops will ultimately reduce operating costs for commercial traders on both sides of the border.