Bosna i Hercegovina

 

Government: Parliamentary democracy with bicameral parliament at the level of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina (House of Representatives and House of Peoples)
1995 constitution (part of the Dayton Peace Agreement): state made up of two entities: the Bosniac-Croat Federation and the Republika Srpska (Serb entity)
Highest civil authority: the High Representative appointed by the international community (currently Christian Schwarz-Schilling)

Head of State: Three-member presidency:
- Haris Silajdzic (Bosniac)
- Chairman Nebojsa Radmanovic (Serb)
- Zeljko Komsic (Croat)
Head of Government: Prime Minister Adnan Terzic
Foreign Minister: Mladen Ivanic

Population: approx. 4 million
Capital: Sarajevo
Area: 51 129 km2
Currency: Convertible marks (BAM); 1 EUR = 1.95 BAM (Dec. 2006)

GDP in real terms: €6.6 billion
GDP per capita: €1 730
Economic growth: 5%
Unemployment: 40.5%

Main export markets: Italy, Croatia, Slovenia
Main exports: Timber, wooden products, clothing
Main source of imports: Croatia, Italy, Slovenia, Austria
Main imports: Machinery, food, building materials, vehicles
Major economic sectors: Aluminium, wood-processing industry, food industry

 

Bosnia and Herzegovina drawing closer to the EU

• April 1992: Bosnia and Herzegovina declares independence. The civil war begins.
• December 1995: The Dayton Peace Agreement is signed, ending the civil war.
• 1996: Regional approach: the Council of the European Union establishes political and economic conditionality for the development of bilateral relations. From 1996 Bosnia and Herzegovina benefits from financial assistance under the PHARE and OBNOVA programmes.
• June 1998: An EU/Bosnia and Herzegovina Consultative Task Force (CTF) is set up to serve as a forum for technical and expert advice in the fields of administration, regulatory framework and policies.
• 1999: The EU proposes a new Stabilization and Association Process (SAP) for five countries of South Eastern Europe, including Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• June 2000: The Feira European Council states that all the SAP countries are potential candidates for EU membership.
• 2001: Start of the new CARDS programme, an EU programme specifically designed to provide financial assistance to the Stabilization and Association Process countries.
• March 2002: the Council of the European Union adopts a Joint Action in order to be able to send an EU Special Representative and an EU Police Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• June 2003: The Thessaloniki European Council confirms the Stabilization and Association Process as the EU policy for the Western Balkans. The EU perspective for these countries is confirmed.
• November 2003: The European Commission produces a Feasibility Study assessing Bosnia and Herzegovina's ability to introduce and implement the Stabilization and Association Agreement. The study specifies 16 areas in which substantial progress must be made before negotiations can start.
• June 2004: The Council of the European Union decides on a European Partnership for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• December 2004: EUFOR replaces SFOR (“Althea” operation), thereby replacing the UN mission with an EU operation.
• October 2005: The European Commission recommends the opening of negotiations for a Stabilization and Association Agreement.
• November 2005: Commencement of negotiations on a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA). These are conditional on unrestricted cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). In addition, the reforms of the police and the public broadcasting system must be implemented.
  The Consultative Task Force is replaced by so-called Reform Process Monitoring.
• March 2006: The meeting of the EU's 25 Foreign Ministers with the states of the Western Balkans reconfirms the EU perspective for the SAP countries.

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