European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina next week, Prime Minister Borjana Krško announced at a press conference in Sarajevo, as quoted by local media. According to unofficial information from the Delegation of the European Commission, the visit is planned for October 14, but final confirmation is still pending, BTA reports.
The visit comes shortly after the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted a draft reform program - a key document that is a condition for receiving about 900 million euros in the form of low-interest loans and grants from the European Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.
Krishto specified that the program has already been sent to Brussels, but work on it is not finished. The document must first be approved by the European Commission, which is expected to provide comments within two months, the Bosnian edition of Euronews reported.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has already lost 108.5 million euros from the Growth Plan, as the country's political leaders have failed to reach an agreement for 20 months. The funds will be redirected to other countries in the region or returned to the EU budget.
The European Union is allocating a total of €6 billion to the Western Balkan countries under the initiative to accelerate their development and integration. Bosnia and Herzegovina remains the only country that failed to meet the ex-ante conditions for funding on time and did not present a reform program acceptable to the EC.
According to the draft seen by Radio Free Europe, the authorities in Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina have planned to apply for infrastructure projects worth a total of over €2.3 billion.