Today, at the headquarters of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, a conference was held at the highest level on the reform of public administration in candidate countries and potential candidates for membership in the European Union entitled: “Principles of Public Administration”, which was developed by SIGMA. The delegation of Bosnia and Herzegovina also participated in the work of the conference: Darko Kasap, Deputy Coordinator for Public Administration Reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Davor Bunoza, Minister of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Ivana Zovko – Planinić, Head of the Office of the Minister of Justice.
The aim of the conference was to update the Principles of Public Administration Reform for the year 2023, and to exchange experiences and opinions on how these principles can strengthen the national reforms of public administration in each individual country. The conference also opened a discussion on the importance of public administration reform for achieving the goals of sectoral policy, which are a key part of the European Union’s enlargement agenda.
The conference was opened by Mathias Cormann, Secretary General of the OECD and Oliver Varhelyi, European Commissioner for Enlargement, and in addition to ministers and other high-ranking representatives of the administration of the Western Balkan countries, representatives of the European Commission, international organizations, civil society and media also participated in the work of the conference.
Minister Bunoza presented the results that our country has achieved in public administration reform so far, while the deputy coordinator spoke about plans for the future of public administration in BiH.
In his presentation, Minister Bunoza pointed out that public administration reform represents a big challenge for Bosnia and Herzegovina because, due to the specific constitutional structure, it is necessary to harmonize regulations and actions at the state, entity and cantonal levels in the Federation of BiH.
He emphasized that the Law on Freedom of Access to Information was recently adopted at the state level, which increases the level of transparency and openness of public administration, and which mandates institutions to proactively publish information. He also said that by the end of the year at the state level, the Amendments to the Law on Civil Service should be adopted, and the law on Civil Service is also harmonized with the European requirements of public administration reform. Deputy coordinator Kasap listed the depoliticization of public administration, retention of quality workforce, and digitalization of public administration as well as the adoption of new regulations in accordance with EU recommendations as priority tasks and plans for the future, which will enable citizens to exercise their rights more easily.
In 2024, SIGMA will conduct measurements in the countries of the Western Balkans according to the new principles that were presented today in Paris, and they will be the basis for further improvement of public administration in Bosnia and Herzegovina.