Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Holts Its 99th Session

2026-2028 BIH PER ADOPTED

The Council of Ministers adopted unanimously an Economic Reforms Programme of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH PER) and will send it to the European Commission, and in synergy with the Reform Agenda, it represents a key stabilisation and accession process document for fulfilment of economic criteria for membership.

BIH PER 2026-2028 defines economic policy measures of all-level authorities in the three-year span and is harmonised with three sustainable development tracks in BIH, namely, good governance and public sector management, smart growth and equal opportunities society, and two horizontal topics, human capital and no exclusion principle.

The document brings projections of an average growth rate over 2026-2028, and it projects the economy in 2026 will mark a real GDP growth of 2.6 per cent, primarily driven by boosting domestic demand.

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS MID-TERM WORK PROGRAMME ADOPTED

Today’s session adopted, in a new text, the Council of Ministers Mid-Term Work Programme for 2026-2028, to be posted at web sites of the Council of Ministers of BIH and Directorate for Economic Planning (DEP).

The DEP-proposed mid-term Work Programme serves as a plan foundation for high quality three-year development management, pursuant to competences of the Council of Ministers and BIH Institutions and its link the budget is to improve fiscal discipline.

This is the 11th document of that kind, presenting a measures, projects and strategic documents package and 45 institutions reporting to the Council of Ministers of BIH will contribute to  its implementation through meeting strategic aims and priorities identified in the “Strategic Framework of BIH Institutions to 20203”.

The strategic aims set under the Mid Term Programme are in line with further process of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s integration to the European Union, and obligations assumed under the Stabilisation and Accession Agreement (SAA).

SUCCESSFUL UN-BIH COOPERATION CONTINUES

The Council of Ministers of BIH adopted a “Cooperation Framework for Sustainable Development” between Bosnia and Herzegovina and United Nations, along with a piece of information by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on continued cooperation between BIH and UN in the up-coming five-year span represented in the document.

Eh Ministry of Foreign Affairs will send the document to the BIH Presidency for further adoption procedure, and Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of BIH Borjana Krišto will be the BIH signatory thereof.

The document represents a strategic framework of partnerships in the five-year time span ahead between Bosnia and Herzegovina and United Nations for issue-solving and priority implementation related to the sustainable development in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The cooperation framework defines three strategic priorities for implementation of Agenda 2030 for Bosnia and Herzegovina, including inclusive green growth, human capital development, accountable institutions and social cohesion.

Implementation of the Cooperation framework implies a coordinated approach and inclusion of domestic all-level authorities, having regard of their competences and existing policies, strategies and legislation, with consultations with partners and civil society stakeholders.

BIH AND SLOVENIA STRENTHHEN THEIR COOPERATION IN LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

The session defined a Proposal Platform for initiating procedure and appointment of negotiating delegation on Agreement on Amendments and Supplements to Agreement between Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Government of Republic of Slovenia on Employment of Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Republic of Slovenia.

The Amendments and Supplements to the Agreement will facilitate legal employment of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Republic of Slovenia and prevent irregular labour migrations.

It will improve cooperation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Slovenia in the area of labour and employment, enabling better work conditions and implementation of relevant rights for BIH citizens in Slovenia.

The Proposal Platform will be sent to the Bih presidency for further procedure, and the Minister of Civil Affairs will act as the BIH signatory thereof.

KINGDOM OF SWEEDEN SECURES GRANT FOR BOOSING GENDER EQUALITY

The session defined, in a new text, Proposal grant Agreement between the Kingdom of Sweden and Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina concerning Programme Gear up for Gender Equality Relations), proposed by the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees. 

This is about maximum KM 2,200,000 (SEK 13,000,000) for the project to be implemented by the gender Equality Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on behalf of the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees of BIH, in partnership with the Gender Centre of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Centre for Gender Equality of Republika Srpska.

The Kingdom of Sweden supports capacity development and institutional strengthening of gender equality mechanism in BIH in implementation of the Gender Action Plan of BIH, for the aim of delivering changes in gender equality and women empowering in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The proposal grant Agreement will be sent to the BIH Presidency for further decision-making procedure, and the Minister for Hauman Rights and Refugees will act as the Bih signatory thereof.

REPUBLIKA SRPSKA REGISTER OF APPRAISAL REAL ESTATE VALUE ESTABLISHED

The Council of Ministers of BIH accepted an initiative of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury for negotiations on a Loan Agreement (Mass Appraisal of Real Estate Value, e-Governance Improvement and Infrastructure Development of Geospatial Data in Republika Srpska) between Bosnia and Herzegovina and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, worth EUR 35,125,751.

The project main aim is to set-up register of appraisal value of real estate to the end of improvement of effectiveness, transparency, accessibility and reliability of real estate market in Republika Srpska, as well as additional improvement of data within real estate cadastre.

Primary beneficiaries will be citizens of and those living abroad, and domestic and foreign investors, with a special emphasis to women and vulnerable categories of society, so as to ensure more equitable distribution of benefits in the real estate taxation process.

Beneficiaries will also include courts, real estate experts, lawyers, appraisers, government institutions, organisations and other authorities, which will enjoy a simpler access to eal estate data.

The loan was allocated to Republika Srpska with a maximum 32-year term, including seveb-year grace period.

The Ministry of Finance and Treasury will send a Proposal Agreement to the Council of Ministers of BIH, upon conclusion of the negotiations.

DEADLINE EXTENSION

The Council of Ministers of BIH took the Ministry of Justice-proposed decision to extend a deadline for implementation of the Revised State Strategy for Addressing War Crimes Files Strategic Aim 1.2.a to the end 2028.

This is the implementation of the Council of Ministers of BIH conclusion from its 92nd session of Nov. 4, 2025, when a piece of information was adopted on the Revised State Strategy Supervisory Board conclusion that implementation of the strategic aim 1.2.a, referring to processing of the most complex and prioritised war crimes cases before the Court and Prosecutorial Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and other files before Entities and the Brčko District of BIH legislation bodies  of BIH should be prolonged for three years.

The piece of information presented courts and prosecutor’s offices operations, and the number of unsolved criminal files registered with the judiciary of Bosnia and Herzegovina conclusive with Dec. 31, 2025, showing that war crimes files processing will not end by the earlier defined deadline, by the end of 2025.

CONTINUED SLOVENIA-BIH COOPERATION THROUHG ITF

The Ministry of Civil Affairs-proposed decision on granting consent for prolongation of application of Memorandum of Understanding between Council of Ministers of BIH and Government of the Republic of Slovenia was adopted.

The MoU application is being prolonged for two years, and it will contribute to continued cooperation between BIH and Slovenia through an International Trustee Fund for demining and assistance to mine victims (ITF), for the aim of decrease of mine pollution in Bosnia and Herzegovina and assistance to mien victims.

The Slovenian side had previously also given its consent for the MoU extension.

RATIFICATION OF READMISSION AGREEMENT WITH LITHUANIA

A proposal Decision was defined upon a proposal by het Ministry of Foreign Affairs on ratification of a Protocol between the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Government of the Republic of Lithuania on implementation of Agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and European Community on Readmission of Illegally Staying Individuals, signed in Sarajevo on June 30, 2025.

The Protocol serves implementation of the Agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and European Community on Readmission of illegally Staying Individuals.

The Proposal Decision on the Protocol ratification  will be sent to the BIH Presidency for further ratification procedure.

AMENDMENT OF RULEBOOK ON SALARIES, BONUSES AND REIMBUSEMENTS WITH BHANSA

The Council of Ministers of BIH granted its consent to a Proposal Rulebook on amendments of Rulebook on salaries, bonuses and reimbursements with the Air Navigation Services Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The reason behind the Rulebook amendments is the advancement of efficacy and fairness of employees awarding system, in line with the Agency development needs and changes to work environment.

The current staff risks include discontent of controllers, increased number of sick leaves and departures abroad, which seriously affect the system stability and service provision quality.

Under the Rulebook amendments, introduced will be a payment per performance, which is a principle to enable employees’ engagement valued in accordance with real contribution. This approach presumes primarily an increase of salaries to key operative staff, whose role and assignment burden have direct effect to security and continuity of service provision, thus creating conditions for maintaining the existing staff.

IMPLEMENTATION OF TRADE AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION BILATERAL AGREEMETNS

The Council of Ministers of BIH adopted a piece of information from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations on implementation of bilateral agreements on trade and/or economic cooperation, trade agreements on free (preferential) trade Bosnia and Herzegovina has concluded with other states, which will be sent to the BHI Presidency and Parliamentary Assembly of BIH.

According to the piece of information, 94.2 per cent of BIH export in 2024 was to the European continent market. Two major groups of trade partners of Bosnia and Herzegovina are the EU and CEFTA states, to which 90.4 per cent of total value of BIH exports goes, while 3.8 per cent was exported to markets of the remaining two partners, EFTA countries and the Republic of Turkiye, and 5.7 per cent of export only was placed to other countries.

Bosnia and Herzegovina had concluded 33 bilateral agreements on trade and/or economic cooperation. By the end 2024.

The piece of information contains key findings and recommendations for improvement of access to this area, with emphasised ned for continued activities leading to increased efficacy in the concluded agreements implementation, especially through application of alterative forms of cooperation, such as consideration of a replacement of old agreements with new ones for the purpose of intensification of bilateral cooperation.

The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations will continue implementation of trade and/or economic cooperation bilateral agreements and trade and agreements on free (preferential) trade concluded by Bosnia and Herzegovina with other states and will report the Council of Ministers of IBIH at least annually.

SEVERAL WORK PROGRAMMES OF INSTITUTIONS OF BIH ADOPTED

The session adopted unanimously several work programmes of 50 institutions under the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2026, among which those of nine state-level Ministries and belonging permanent bodies (Secretariat-General, Legislation Office, Directorate for European Integrations and Directorate for Economic Planning).

Adopted were several 2026 work programmes, namely, from the Civil Service Agency of BIH, Measurement Institute of BIH, State Regulatory Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety, BIH Food Safety Directorate, Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies of BIH, Return Fund of BIH, BIH Competition Council, and three institutes, namely, for intellectual property, standardisation, and accrediting of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Among the adopted work programmes, there those of the Office of Coordinator for Public Administration Reform and a number of state agencies, such as the following: for statistics; for postal traffic;  insurance of BIH; development of high education and quality insurance of BIH; police support;  labour and employment; medicines and medical appliances; forensic research and expertise; education and staff professional up-grading; preschool, primary and secondary education of BIH; BIH market surveillance; Foreign Investment Promotion Agency; and Civil Aviation of BIH.

The session adopted work programmes for 2026 of the following institutions: the Central Harmonisation Unit under the Ministry of Finance and Treasury of BIH; Border Police of BIH; Foreigners’ Affairs Service; Centre for Information and Documents Recognition of High Education; Institution of Ombudsman for Consumers of BIH; Archives of BIH; Mine Action Centre of BIH, Institute for Criminal Sanctions Execution, Detention and Other Measures of BIH; Concession Committee of BIH; and Administration for Phytosanitary Protection of BIH.

APPOINTEMENTS

The Council of Ministers endorsed an opinion by the Civil Service Agency of BIH for appointment of managing civil servants, Manager and Deputy Managers of the Veterinary Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, after a completed job vacancy procedure.

Saša Bošković was appointed Manager of the Veterinary Office of BIH and Boro Krišto for Deputy Manager, as the most successful candidates in the job vacancy procedure.

Earlier, the previous managers of the Veterinary Agency of BIH were released due to their term expiry, Manger Saša Boković, Deputy Manager Pavo Radić and Secretary Muamer Dervišević. Džemil Hajrić was appointed acting Secretary of the Veterinary Office until the end of relevant job vacancy procedure, for three months at longest.

The session adopted the Ministry of civil Affairs-tabled report on an implemented job vacancy procedure for selection of a member of the Centre for Information and Documents Recognition in High Education Steering Board from national minorities, and Amila Taljanović was appointed member of the Centre Steering Broad for a three-year term.

Previously, Ivana Novaković was released from the post of member form national minorities due to her mandate expiry.

STATE AWARD FOR SPORTS AND AWARDS FOR DESERVING AND TOP SPORTSPERSONS

The Council of Ministers of BIH took the Ministry of Civil Affairs-proposed decision on the level of one-time cash award for deserving sportsperson of Bosnia and Herzegovina and for top sportsperson of international class for 2025 within a Grant for cash awards for deserving and top sportspersons of international class in amount of KM 100,000.

Under the decision, 12 deserving sportspersons of Bosnia and Herzegovina will get one-time cash awards in KM 1,700 to Km 2,600 span, which totals KM 27,600, Also 51 top sportspersons of international class will get one-time cash award in Km 1,400 to KM 1,600 span, totalling KM 72,400.

The Council of Ministers of BIH presented the state award for sports of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2025 in amount of KM 10,000 to bicyclist Lejla Njemčević, upon the Ministry of Civil Affairs’ proposal.

During her sports carrier, Njemčević showed the best results in bicycling sports in Bosnia and Herzegovina, winning medals and titles as follows: the best female bicyclist in marathon in 2022 and 2023, total winner of the World Cup 2022 and 2023, 15 medals from World Cup, Balkan champion five times successively, 40 wins at UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale), 21 times state champion of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and ambassador of the International Olympic Board.

In 2023-2024 seasons she became officially the world  best  female bicyclist, and in 2025 she won the second place in the world cup in Italy, to finish the season as the fourth best female bicyclist.

The Council of Ministers of BIH took a decision to approve funds for the needs of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s participation at the 61st Venetian Biennale of contemporary art in 2026.

Under the decision, funds in amount of KM 250,000 are approved to Banja Luka-based Museum of Contemporary Art, representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina a the 61st Venetian Biennale of Contemporary Art 2026 for “Domus Diasporica” Project by author Mladen Bundalo and curator of the setting Isidora Živković.

Eh Secretariat-General-proposed decision was taken on appointment of members of the Coordination for Interoperability of Council of Ministers of BIH in data digitalisation, electronic data exchange and interoperability of informatic systems.

The Coordination for Interoperability will include representatives of the Council of Ministers Secretariat-General, indirect Taxation Administration of BIH, Identification Documents Evidence and Data Exchange of BIH, Statistics Agency of BIH, Ministry fo Communications and Transport, Ministry of Security and Police Support Agency.

Members of the Coordination for Interoperability are appointed to a four-year term and may be replaced during their term of office.

Taking effect of this decision, a decision on appointment of the previous Coordination for Interoperability becomes invalid. (end).