Meeting of the Association of Municipalities and Cities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Neum, 17 April 2009

Speech by Vice-President Dubravka Suica, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities - Council of Europe

Mr Chairman,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In December 2007, I had the pleasure of addressing the Congress of Local Self-Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, here, in the same city of Neum which is hosting us today.

Back then, I spoke of the special and close attention that the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe attaches to South-East Europe and to Bosnia and Herzegovina in particular. I spoke of the need for radical change in the field of local and regional self-government in this country, as was recommended by the Congress in 2006 –

- the need for a clear constitutional guarantee of local self-government at State level, binding for all tiers of public authorities;

- the need for improving territorial structures, by creating municipalities of a sufficient size;

- the need to harmonise the Cantons’ laws in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to pass the power of legislation and supervision in the field of local self-government to the Federation’s level;

- last but not least, the need for greater co-operation between municipalities, including across the boundaries of the Entities and Cantons – both co-operation between individual municipalities as well as between associations of municipalities.

I also pointed out that, although the Congress has noted the country’s commitment to improve local and regional democracy, and found its legislation to be on the whole compatible with the European Charter of Local Self-Government, improvements still remained to be made – in the simplification of the public administrative structure in order to ensure efficiency, in revising the persisting consideration of ethnic criteria in the exercise of political rights by citizens, and with regard to discrimination against minorities and the limitations on political equality.

Needless to say, it is a great pleasure for me to address you again today and to reaffirm our commitment, the commitment of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, to advancing local and regional democracy in South-East Europe, which is also my region, with a special emphasis on Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is also my country’s neighbour.

I am grateful to the organisers for giving me this opportunity to look at how the situation has evolved since our last encounter, to learn from you and to share with you what action has been undertaken by the Congress since that time.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Certain things never change, and we in the Congress remain firmly convinced that local democracy in South-East Europe, and in particular local self-government in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has a special importance because of the country’s constitutional and ethnic structure. It plays a key role in holding together multiethnic communities and in fostering intercultural and interreligious dialogue within and between them. Local self-government was crucial in restoring trust and building confidence in communities torn by the Balkan wars, which is why Local Democracy Agencies, LDAs, launched by the Congress, have become such a success, and which is why Bosnia and Herzegovina is hosting three of them.

Local and regional self-government structures are also more apt in establishing practical ties of cooperation with their counterparts across the region – cooperation which is sometimes difficult at the national level, and of which two excellent examples at local and regional level are the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe, NALAS, and the Adriatic Euroregion. In this regard, I am pleased to inform you that, following the coming into being of the Adriatic Euroregion in 2006, the Congress successfully launched another cooperation platform – the Black Sea Euroregion, which was established in September last year and which is also intended for regions and municipalities from a significant part of South-East Europe.

We strongly hope that the two Euroregions will develop cooperation not only between cities and regions within their scope, but also between themselves, as both of them cover the territory linked by common history, geography and, to a large extent, culture and the ethnic make-up.

This capacity of local and regional authorities for networking at their level is the reason why the Congress is so insistent on greater practical cooperation between regional entities and municipalities. However, this cooperation must be based on, and carried out within, a clear legal framework at the national level. Such a framework is what we find still lacking or insufficient in Bosnia and Herzegovina so far. In the Federation in particular, a clear constitutional basis for legislating in the field of local self-government is still missing, and many of the provisions of self-government legislation are very vague and require concretisation through subsequent laws.

Also, given the deficiency of power of the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the field of local self-government – which makes it unable to fully implement its obligations under the European Charter of Local Self-Government – the Congress had at the time recommended that both Entities should individually incorporate the Charter in their legislation and agree on mechanisms to establish responsibility of the Entities vis-à-vis the State – something that has not happened so far.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

To look into these issues, the Congress held, during its Plenary Session in March this year, a preliminary debate on the situation of local and regional democracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The debate was preliminary because, despite our repeated requests, the government of this country has never sent a representative for an exchange of views with Congress members on the implementation of our recommendation, made in 2006. Mr Perica Rajcevic, member of the Parliament of the Republika Srpska on behalf of the whole national delegation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, informed the Congress about the developments in his country, but he could not, of course, be held accountable for the implementation of the Charter or of the Congress recommendation.

Nevertheless, what we heard was quite encouraging. We welcome the fact that the draft amendments to the Republika Srpska’s Constitution, which are now under discussion, expressly aim to reflect the principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government and to include some of its main provisions.

We also welcome the Republika Srpska’s new draft Law on Territorial Organisation, which has been submitted to the Council of Europe for an expert opinion. Its provisions, including the new territorial arrangements it envisages, appear to be generally consistent with the Charter. This draft also addresses the problem that many municipalities are too small in size, highlighted in our recommendation. Nevertheless, areas of concern remain, such as the absence from the draft law of any definition of the terms “local authority” or “local self-government”. Another new law of the Republika Srpska is also being drafted, on the Administrative Inspectorate, and we hope it will closely reflect Article 8 of the European Charter, which deals with the administrative supervision of local authorities’ activities.

We are pleased to hear about some positive developments in the Federation as well, which aim to harmonize its legislation with the Charter, and are happy to note that in 2008 Bosnia and Herzegovina ratified the European Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities. We hope that the ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages will follow soon.

As for the question of local finances, it is our understanding that there have been some positive developments in this area in the Republika Srpska, where 25% of Value Added Tax is now allocated to local authorities by a binding formula, and a new property tax now goes entirely to the municipalities, which can set the level of that tax. From the Federation, however, we have not yet heard of such developments, so concerns remain about non-compliance with the Charter on the question of “own resources”.

Last but not least, we welcome the establishment, in the summer of 2008, of the Decentralisation Commission aimed at overseeing the decentralisation process and harmonizing relevant cantonal laws. Nevertheless, we regret not having heard about the start of its concrete work yet. We will continue of course to follow with much attention the future initiatives and activities of this newly established Commission.

I should also like to say a few words about the observation of local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Congress delegation in October 2008. Our delegation visited some 120 polling stations in both Entities and concluded that the elections had been conducted in line with the Council of Europe’s standards. The Congress particularly welcomed the fact that displaced persons were granted special voting rights at these elections.

The observers acknowledged the improvements made since the previous elections, including amendments to the Electoral Law providing for minority representation and special voter registration rules for former residents of Srebrenica. They also welcomed the fact that these elections were fully funded by national authorities.

However, they also noted that the elections and especially the preceding campaign were stained by allegations of bribery, rhetoric fuelling ethnic division and by voter apathy, resulting in low voter turnout. This could be due to the fact that political debate during the campaign did not address the issues of concern to the citizens – which must be at the heart of local democracy and local self-government.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

To conclude, I would like to stress that we are looking forward to a higher pace of progress in establishing an appropriate legal framework for local self-government in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and certainly to an opportunity to discuss the follow-up to our recommendation with representatives of the government, in a public debate. We in the Congress are fully aware of the background of the extremely difficult situation, out of which Bosnia and Herzegovina has emerged, and welcome wholeheartedly the steps that have already been taken, or are being taken, on the path towards a vibrant and effective local democracy in this country.

You are on the right track, and one very good sign of this is that out of the seven winners of the Dosta!-Congress Prize for Municipalities, distinguished for their innovative work in combating prejudice against Roma and promoting their inclusion in political and social life, four are from Bosnia and Herzegovina – Vitez and Banja Luka in 2007, and Mostar and Prijedor in 2008. Local democracy that is more citizen-oriented, more participatory and therefore more effective is what we are seeking to build, and what we are building together. And together, we shall succeed.

Thank you.