The European Commission Director-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations Gert-Jan Koopman has concluded a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, during which he urged key stakeholders to make progress in finalising a Reform Agenda with the requisite level of ambition to allow Bosnia and Herzegovina to fully benefit from the Growth Plan.

In meetings with Chairwoman of the BiH Presidency Zeljka Cvijanovic, Chairwoman of the BiH Council of Ministers Borjana Kristo, as well as representatives of the Working Group on the Growth Plan, Director-General Koopman underlined the potential transformative effect of the Growth Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s economy and alignment with the EU. He urged decision makers to resolve the outstanding issues that have prevented the country’s authorities from finalising the Reform Agenda, thus eventually enabling Bosnia and Herzegovina to receive funding under the Reform and Growth Facility of the Growth Plan, should the Reform Agenda be approved by the European Commission.

Discussions were held in a constructive atmosphere, providing a solid basis for further progress if there is sufficient political will.

The visit comes less than three weeks after the publication of the European Commission’s Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition to discussing the Growth Plan, the visit also provided an opportunity to discuss what Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to do to implement the relevant steps that would enable further progress on the EU path.