Press Releases
Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Holds Its 31st Session
12/11/2012
Vijeće ministara Bosne i Hercegovine
The session emphasised that the Council of Ministers has timely undertaken all measures needed for creation of conditions, including funds provision, for Gradiška and Bijača border crossings to be constructed within defined deadline.
The State Committee for Integrated Border Management of BIH is tasked to prepare a detailed information on the status of construction of border inspection points Gradiška and Bijača and provide it to the Directorate for European Integrations, which will be passed to the European Commission.
The Indirect Taxation Administration is in charge to take all needed measures from its competences for the construction of the border inspection points.
Based on media headlines and statements from the Indirect Taxation Administration, the Council of Ministers of BIH warned the Administration’s management and spokesperson to inform the public on the BIPs construction with due care so that the public would be informed fully and correctly on this important topic.
Upon a proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, the Council of Ministers of BIH adopted a Regulation on microbiological criteria for food, setting-up microbiological criteria for food which differ hygienically proper food from safe food.
The Regulation provides for a methodology to be used by laboratories in inspection of food for human use.
Upon a proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, the Council of Ministers of BIH accepted an amendment of Article IV of Regulation on Official Controls carried out for the verification of procedures compliant with human and animal food regulations and animal health and well-being regulations, which are fully harmonised with the EU legislation.
Important food safety requirements are being applied, as prescribed by the co-called “hygiene packages”, earlier adopted by the Council of Ministers.
The Council of Ministers of BIH adopted a Report from the Ministry of Finance and Treasury on BIH Budget Execution in first nine months of 2012.
According to the report, total realised revenues and receivables in January-September are KM 713,632,936.00 or 75% of figures projected under the 2012 Budget, while expenditures amount to KM 637,197,308.00 or 67% in relation to the adopted Budget, and are less for about KM 18.4 million compared with the same period in 2011.
Bosnia and Herzegovina regularly serves its foreign debt, and payments for these purposes amounted to KM 227,204,122.29, in proportion of KM 140,513,845.95 for the Federation of BIH, KM 84,850,070.36 for Republika Srpska, KM 112,453.58 for the Brčko District and KM 1,727.752.39 for the BIH Institutions.
The Council of Ministers of BIH defined, by a majority vote, a Proposal Law on Management of Property Temporarily or Permanently Seized in Criminal Procedure before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which the Ministry of Justice will send to the Parliamentarian Assembly of BIH as a part of a package of obligations of BIH under the Road Map for visa regime liberalisation.
The Proposal Law calls for the establishment of an Agency for Management of Property Temporarily or Permanently Seized in Criminal Procedure before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Agency will be located in Sarajevo, and its manager will be appointed by the Council of Ministers of BIH for a four year term.
The Council of Ministers of BIH defined a Proposal Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Criminal Code Procedure of Bosnia and Herzegovina with corrections adopted at its session, and which the Ministry of Justice will provide to the Parliamentarian Assembly of BIH.
Among other things, the Amendments and Supplements to the Code widely define the term of telecommunications and entails the transfer of information between two or more users of telecommunication system via wire, radio, optical and other electromagnetic systems.
Also, the Amendments of the Code define that legality protection requests are to be rule on by a five-judge strong Council under the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina Criminal Department.
The supplements to the code define that in cases of a search in a religious building, a written search order is to be delivered to the highest competent body representing the concerned registered religious community, which will designate at least one person to be present at the search.
The Council of Ministers of BIH defined a Proposal Law on Supplement to the Law on Indirect Taxation System in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was prepared by the Indirect Taxation Administration. The Proposal Law will be forwarded to the Parliamentarian Assembly of BIH for consideration under urgent procedure.
The Law Amendment defines that following expiry of four year term, orepative managers might be re-appointed for just one more mandate. This way, a director of the Indirect Taxation Administration is enabled to ensure and organise a legal execution of all operations in the Indirect Taxation Administration, all the more for his term in office is limited by the law.
The selection and appointment of operative manger, namely deputy director, as managing civil servant, will be carried out through a job vacancy procedure under the Law on Civil Service in BIH Institutions.
The Council of Ministers of BIH accepted a proposed model of participation of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 5th Venice Biennale 2013, where BIH will be represented by artist Mladen Miljakovć with project curator dr. Sarita Vujković and dr. Ifran Hošić and Exhibition Commissioner artist Braco Dimitrijević.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs will send a letter of interest to the Venice Biennale Administration via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for ensuring the BIH pavilion at this event.
The Council of Ministers of BIH tasked the Ministry of Finance and Treasury and Ministry of Civil Affairs to secure funds for the participation of BIH at the 55th Venice Biennale in amount of KM 180,000.00 from BIH Institutions Budget, from a grant “Co-financing of cultural projects in 2013”.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs is in charge to form an advisory board to monitor the BIH participation at the Venice Biennale as discussed at the session.
BIH will be represented at the 55th Venice Biennale under the working title “Moving”, which will investigate and visually materialise the peculiarities in pour society.
The Council of Ministers of BIH accepted an initiative of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury for Negotiations for conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Turkey for enhancing economic ties and increasing trade exchange between the two states.
The Memorandum will be defined as a loan arrangement with the Turkish Exim Bank, and the level and other details of loan to finance infrastructural projects in BIH will be agreed to during the negotiations.
The Council of Ministers of BIH accepted an initiative of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury and appointed a delegation for negotiations for conclusion of an Agreement between the Council of Ministers of BIH and Government of the Federal Republic of Germany on Financial Cooperation, originally scheduled for year 2010, by which a soft loan funds in amount of EUR 98milion and EUR 1.5 million grant are secured for BIH for projects in the area of utility- environmental infrastructure and energy.
The included projects are the Energy Sector Programme V, Incentive to Renewable Energy II and Water Supply and Disposal of Waste Waters. The loan conditions will be defined by a separate agreement with the KfW.
The Council of Ministers of BIH took a decision on allowing the use of KM 80,000.00 grant “International Cultural Cooperation” for 2012 for the implementation of international projects of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BIH, as follows: Nomination of ancient tomb stones for the World Heritage List, Nomination of Dinaric karst for the World Heritage List, Preparation of joint exhibition of ex-SFRY countries in the Auschwitz Museum, Forum of Slavic cultures. These projects are included in the plan of activities defined by the Minister, in compliance with a Decision on Criteria for Co-Funding “2012 International Cultural Cooperation” Projects.
Upon a proposal of the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees, the Council of Ministers of BIH took a decision to grant its consent for a transfer of KM 150,000.00 to the Fund for Return, from the “Financing of Rights from Annex VII of the Dayton Peace Agreement” Third Grant.
The Fund for Return of BIH will dispose of these funds after it concludes an agreement with the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees.
The Council of Ministers of BIH took a Decision on adoption of an Action Plan for Implementation of Strategic Response to HIV and AIDS in BIH in 2011-2016, which the Council of Ministers of BIH adopted at its 159th session, held on September 7, 2009.
The Action Plan defines holders of activities, deadlines and more than 70 activities, and it is intended for a credible implementation of the Strategic Response to HIV and AIDS in BIH by 2016, aimed at gradual decrease of number of the newly-infected by HIV virus and creation of ambience of a normal life for the infected persons.
Previously, the Council of Ministers of BIH, upon a proposal of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, took a Decision on adoption of the Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina for maintaining the status of a country freed from poliomyelitis.
The Council of Ministers of BIH adopted answers to a list of questions on herbal health system in relation to potato sector, and tasked the Directorate for European Integrations to deliver these answers to the European Commission so that a BIH initiative for potato export to the European Union might be considered.
This 77 page document contains answers, accompanied by basic data on potato growing, organisational aspects of herbal health control registration and traceability at domestic market, waste treatment and situation with pests in potato, export certification system, in addition to 19 attachments with detailed information on production, control and potato import/export in BIH.
The EC Enlargement DG provided the list of questions on herbal health system in potato sector to BIH on November 16. The aim of the European Commission is to secure from the answers it receives necessary information on the functioning of the herbal health system in potato sector, including information on production and foreign exchange, as basis for the follow-up on BIH initiative for allowing BIH potato exports to the EU.
The Council of Ministers of BIH was informed of a Study “Maximization of financial flows and investment effects connected with migration trends to development of Bosnia and Herzegovina”, and tasked the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of BIH to provide the Study to all relevant institutions in BIH.
The Council suggested to all BIH institutions to take into consideration, in development of their relative strategic documents and other regulations, the development potentials of emigration, both financial (earmarking, savings, investment) and human ones.
The purpose of the Study is to secure that relevant participants in both public and private sectors in Bosnia and Herzegovina get primary and reliable data, information, analyses and recommendations referring to key issues of migrations and development.
For the needs of the Study, a socio-economic research was conducted, by way of both a pool of over 1,216 long time emigrants from BIH, conducted at several BIH border crossings during their visit to BIH in time span from December 2009 to January 2010 and on-line pool for BIH citizens in overseas countries.
The research has shown that the main goal of emigrants form BIH was the accumulation of a certain capital. The capital in question is accumulated in cash, investments and savings in host countries (“reinvested savings”) and surpasses by far the level of earmarks to BIH. This accumulated financial capital may have an important role in overall development strategy of BIH, especially in combination with human and social capital of emigrants.
Upon a proposal of the Ministry of Foreign affairs, The Council of Ministers of BIH granted its consent for appointment of Janko Goršek as Police Attaché of the Republic of Slovenia in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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