Dnevni avaz: Bosnia and Herzegovina must urgently increase the institutional capacities so it could not only successfully implement the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the European Union once it is signed, but also continue its travel towards the integration in the EU.
Human Resource Filling
Much has to be done in human resource filling, logistic support and education of civil servants, but also the whole public, warns in his interview for “Dnevni avaz” Osman Topčagić, director of the Directorate for European Integrations of BiH (DEI).
Already now BiH should double the number of employees in the DEI, which has a key coordinating role in the process of European integrations and a lot will have to be done also in other state institutions. The entire job is now being done by 60 people, including in that number the interns. According to the adopted systematisation, it is necessary that we have 108 employees, but we cannot employ them, because we do not have enough office space. They would not have a room for work – said Topčagić.
According to his words, there will be more and more of work on the reforms and adjustment to the European standards, and every ministry should have not only, as now, one person in charge of that, but a team of people who work on it full time. But, the problem is that the Council of Ministers of BiH did not support that.
We proposed to establish units in all the state ministries and administrations where it was necessary, but it was not accepted at first. Now, we will modify the proposal and try to send it for adoption again – said Topčagić.
Necessary measures
He warns that such measures are necessary in this phase of integration of BiH. Croatia, for example, as soon as 2003 had more than one hundred people directly employed in the directorate and the ministry in charge, as well as 100 experts on the MA studies in European integrations in the EU. Croatia now negotiates membership and has more than 2000 people from different institutions who directly work on the affairs related with negotiations.
We now have 40 people on studies; some of them are being educated in BiH as well. When it comes to education of the civil servants and the employed in administrations, something has been done in that in that field, on the basis of technical assistance of the EU. One thousand two hundred people passed the seminars and trainings – added Topčagić.
However, he warns that general knowledge of the public and citizens as well as youth needs to be strengthened, suggesting that education on the EU should be in the curricula for elementary schools.
Too little room
When it comes to the problem of office space, Topčagić hopes that it will be solved once the building of Greek-Bosnian friendship in the Square of BiH in Sarajevo is moved in.
Now they say we will have one floor, which is enough for only 50 people. So, not enough for the capacity the Directorate should work with – clarified Topčagić.