Nezavisne novine: The Fiscal Council of BiH has yesterday recommended to the Management Board of the Indirect Taxation Administration (ITA) of BiH to abolish the obligation of paying the VAT on funds from the Pre-Accession Assistance of the European Union, has been confirmed after the session by Nikola Špirić, the chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH. By this, the assumptions for de-blocking 50 million Euros of this assistance to our country would be created. "We believe that the MB of the Indirect Taxation Administration will accept our recommendation. We cannot to order them to do so, but we have recommended that the VAT on the funds from the Pre-Accession Assistance gets abolished", Špirić has said after the yesterday’s session of the Fiscal Council of BiH, which he chairs. The members of this Council are the state and entity prime ministers, and ministers for finances. The state and entity ministers for finances are also the members of the Management board of the ITA of BiH.
More restrictive budgets in 2009
The budgets in BiH in the next year will be more restrictive in relation to this year, has been said by Špirić after the session of the Fiscal Council. "The frame for budgets in BiH and their distribution to the levels of government, we will deliberate at the next session in seven days. We have agreed to lead a restrictive budgeting politics on all levels, but having in mind that it does not endanger the European way of this country", Špirić has said, by avoiding to precise how big will be the budget for whole country, and how much will the state, entities and the District Brčko receive. He has also announced that in seven days, in Banja Luka will be held a special session of the Council of Ministers of BiH, dedicated to fulfilling the conditions from the European Partnership for BiH, which will be attended by the entity prime ministers.
Before the session of the Fiscal Council, Špirić and the entity prime ministers, Nedžad Branković and Milorad Dodik had a meeting with the High Representative Miroslav Lajčak and the representatives of the international donor’s organizations. The High Representative has at this meeting warned that the European Commission will not de-block 50 million Euros from the Pre-Accession Assistance to BiH unless the local governments abolish the VAT on this assistance.
"In the agreement with the EU on using the funds from the Pre-Accession Assistance, BiH has obligated itself to abolish the VAT on those funds. This is the obligation which the local governments have taken over, but they have not realized it. This is not something we can negotiate; it is simply something that needs to be implemented, in order for those funds to become available to the final users", Lajčak has said. He repeated that the tenths or hundreds of million KM of this assistance are not operative because of the lack of coordination between the institutions in BiH.
"We have agreed to sign the memorandum or agreement by which the efficient mechanisms for realization of this assistance will be ensured. It is about the list of technical questions which need to be solved in order for the funds reserved for the citizens of BiH to become available", Lajčak has said, while Špirić has repeated that by this protocol, the mechanisms for a fast and efficient realization of the projects for which the donor’s funds have been approved, will be précised.
"The protocol will be a document in which we will define the mechanisms to assist each other so the projects which the donors want to help, can be realized. There are justified objections of certain donors to the problems we must remove. From our side, the thoughts on way of agreeing and realization of the projects, have been stated, so I believe we will succeed to remove the barriers for realization of donor’s assistance", Špirić has concluded. The Prime Minister of the RS, Milorad Dodik has said how the governments of this entity want to help donor’s funds to be de-blocked.
"I think we can find the mechanisms for the efficient using of these funds. However, we must know that some projects with political background cannot pass. I mean establishing some new institutions which have not been agreed in BiH, or forming the regional developmental agencies without respecting the internal structure of the country", Dodik has said. After the meeting with Lajčak, Branković was not in a mood for giving any statements.