Nezavisne novine: The governments of BiH have not yet agreed on the project ideas for using of around 90 million Euros from the Pre-Accession funds of the EU (IPA) for 2009., even though the finished projects should be passed over to Brussels by March 26th.
This has been confirmed by a National Coordinator for the IPA funds, the Minister of Finance of BiH, Dragan Vrankić and a member of the Advisory board for these funds, Zoran Stjepanović.
"The procedure of agreeing is in the process. According to the plan of the Council of Ministers of BiH, by January 16th we should prepare the project ideas which are after that being delivered to the leaders of projects with which the final proposal project is being agreed", Stjepanović has said. BiH has already for two years been using the funds from the program of the assistance for countries candidates and potential candidates for a membership in the EU, and by this money the introduction of biometric passports could also be financed.
"The problem of distribution of money is a consequence of the previous selections of projects when the projects which were going to be implemented at the level of state have been approved. We expect that we will change this relation in the benefit of entities", Stjepanović has said. Vrankić claims that the money will be approved for good and qualitative projects and that is of the criterions.
"I believe we will succeed to select and send the projects to the EC on time", Vrankić has said.