Decision made by the Council of Ministers at today's session

The new law simplifies and speeds up the procedure for concluding and executing international agreements and follows the legal system of the EU and the Vienna Convention in this area.

The draft law specifies the manner of concluding international agreements concluded by Bosnia and Herzegovina, from the initiation of the procedure, negotiation, initialling and signing of the agreement to entry into force, ratification, application, publication, deposit and all other procedures in the process of their conclusion.

At the same time, legal deadlines are being introduced for the actions of the competent bodies that participate in its preparation and application, which is extremely important considering that in the coming period, an increase in the number, in particular, of multilateral conventions that are approached in the process of getting closer to the EU and strengthening cooperation is expected with NATO.

The draft law will be submitted to the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the further adoption procedure according to the regular procedure.

The BiH Council of Ministers considered the Proposal of the Draft Agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Croatia on the construction of the gas pipeline "Southern Interconnection of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Croatia", together with the Basis for its conclusion.

The BiH Council of Ministers unanimously gave full support to the "Southern Interconnection of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Croatia" project.

In order to accelerate all activities, the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina called on the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to urgently propose to the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina a legal solution for the implementation of the project "Southern interconnection of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Croatia."

At the same time, the proposal of the preliminary draft of the interstate agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Serbia on the construction of the gas pipeline "New Eastern Interconnection of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Serbia" along the border between the Republic of Serbia - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bijeljina - Banja Luka - Prijedor - Novi Grad, together with The basis for his conclusions.

These are important strategic projects aimed at securing multiple sources of gas supply, since Bosnia and Herzegovina is now supplied with natural gas exclusively from one source and one transport route built 40 years ago.

The eastern and southern interconnection will play a key role for the long-term energy stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The construction of gas transport pipelines complies with the obligations assumed from the Treaty on the Establishment of the Energy Community of Southeast European Countries and the basic postulates of the acquis of the European Union, which emphasize the need to integrate and develop the natural gas market by connecting it to regional and European networks, in order to ensure safe and stable energy supply and improve measures for environmental protection.

The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina established the Proposal of Basic Principles and appointed a delegation to conduct negotiations and conclude the Agreement between the European Union and Bosnia and Herzegovina on legal cooperation in criminal matters between the European Union Agency for Cooperation in Criminal Justice (EUROJUST) and the competent bodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The conclusion of this contract, which was proposed by the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, represents a strong step forward for Bosnia and Herzegovina in strengthening the prevention and fight against organized crime and corruption, after obtaining candidate status for membership in the European Union.

The contract is focused on improving judicial cooperation between Eurojust and the competent authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the fight against serious crime.

In practice, mutual cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of serious crimes, especially organized crime and terrorism, is being strengthened, while ensuring appropriate protective measures regarding the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals, including privacy and protection of personal data.

The proposed basis will be submitted to the BiH Presidency for further decision-making procedures, and the Minister of Justice has been proposed as a signatory from BiH.

Bosnia and Herzegovina will be the host country of the Digital Summit of the Western Balkans, which will be held in Sarajevo in October 2023.

The summit will be hosted on behalf of BiH by the Minister of Communications and Transport, Edin Forto.

This was stated in the Information of the Ministry of Communications and Transport on the organization of this summit, which contains a set of conclusions that tasked the competent bodies and institutions of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the implementation of organizational activities for its holding.

The summit is held every year in the capitals of the Western Balkan countries (WB6) within the framework of the Berlin Process and the Action Plan for the Common Regional Market for the Western Balkans, adopted in Sofia in November 2020.

About 300 participants are expected at the summit, among them high officials of the governments of the Western Balkan countries, the European Commission, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), the business community and experts from global companies that dominate and create the digital field and new trends.

The costs of organizing the Digital Summit of the Western Balkans in 2023, hosted by Bosnia and Herzegovina, are estimated at around 350,000.00 KM.

The summit focuses on four main platforms: digital infrastructure and connectivity, digital skills and competences, the digital economy in the age of new information and communication technologies, and trust and security.

(FENA) L. N.

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