TI BiH: Despite securing 10 million KM, public administration reform in BiH stagnates

This was the assessment of participants at the conference ''Public Administration Reform in the Context of European Union Accession Negotiations'', organized today in Sarajevo by Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH).

Political obstacles remain the main reason why public administration reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina has failed to achieve expected progress for a prolonged period, warned Srđan Blagovcanin from Transparency International BiH.

He noted that Republika Srpska and the state-level authorities have still not adopted action plans, directly slowing the implementation of already planned reform measures.

According to him, an additional problem is that the Public Administration Reform Fund, despite holding around 10 million KM, has not yet been reactivated.

''This puts us in an absurd situation where financial resources for reform are secured, but due to the absence of political will, reform is not happening at the capacity and scale it should,'' Blagovcanin emphasized.

Speaking about the importance of public administration reform in the European integration process, he recalled that this area is part of the first cluster of accession negotiations, covering the fundamental principles of joining the European Union.

Blagovcanin added that this is one of the reasons for organizing conferences like today’s - to highlight the need to reaffirm and accelerate the reform process so that Bosnia and Herzegovina can catch up with other countries in the region.

He stressed that all relevant international reports confirm the country’s lag in this field.

''According to all relevant assessments, including SIGMA, Bosnia and Herzegovina ranks last in terms of progress achieved so far,'' Blagovcanin warned.

Helena Lagerlöf, Ambassador of Sweden to Bosnia and Herzegovina, also addressed the media and highlighted the importance of public administration reform for citizens' daily lives. She emphasized that a high-quality public sector means more efficient services, greater accountability, and institutions citizens can trust.

Referring to relevant reports and statistical indicators, she stressed that Bosnia and Herzegovina remains in the early stages of public administration reform and continues to lag behind other Western Balkan countries.

She also pointed to the strategic importance of this process in the context of European integration.

She stated that Sweden stands by Bosnia and Herzegovina and strongly supports its efforts to achieve these goals.

Davor Bunoza, Minister of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, emphasized that public administration reform is the foundation for implementing all other reform processes in the country.

He pointed to the complexity of Bosnia and Herzegovina's institutional framework, as well as frequent assessments that there are no visible results in this field.

However, he noted that some progress has been made over the past three years, with significant acts adopted to improve the functioning of public administration.

He stated that amendments to the Law on Labour in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s institutions, currently in parliamentary procedure, have improved employee rights, including the first collective agreement. He also highlighted the importance of amendments to the Law on Administrative Procedure, currently under consideration in the House of Peoples.

He particularly emphasized the challenges facing public administration.

''The biggest challenges for us are how to retain young talent and how to attract them to work in public administration, as public administration is no longer the most desirable employer in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There is also the issue of digital transformation,'' he said.

As a key issue, he highlighted the need for further professionalization of public administration, drawing from his own experience of transitioning from the private sector.

Wojciech Zielinski, Senior Policy Advisor at SIGMA and newly appointed coordinator for Bosnia and Herzegovina, highlighted the long-standing role of this initiative in supporting public administration reform in the region, including Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He stressed that SIGMA, as a joint initiative of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Union, has gained significant experience and valuable insights into public administration systems in different countries through continuous work.

He added that SIGMA operates as a long-term and flexible support program tailored to the needs of individual countries and the development level of their public administrations.

Speaking about specific activities, he announced the presentation of a recently adopted SIGMA document.

Referring to the essence of public administration reform, Zielinski emphasized that reform does not depend solely on formal documents, but primarily on the people implementing it.

Today's conference will present key aspects of public administration reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the context of the EU accession process, with a special focus on readiness to open accession negotiations, the functioning and efficiency of reform coordination structures, and the implementation of the Public Administration Reform Strategy in Bosnia and Herzegovina.