Implementation of the Strategy – priority from the European Partnership
The Public Administration Reform is one of the six key priorities from the European Partnership, and public administration able to adopt and implement the acquis communaitaire, is one of the most important preconditions for a membership in the European Union. Building of the administrative capacities, able to adopt and implement 35 chapters of the legislation of the EU – is a criteria which has been set before all countries which want to become members of the Union in Copenhagen in 1993, and confirmed in Madrid two years later. The role of the Public Administration Reform Coordinator’s Office (PARCO) is very important in the process of building the institutions. This is why all the activities of the PARCO have been directed to achieving the Euro-Integration aim of BiH. On the way towards that aim, the PARCO cooperates closely with the Directorate for European Integrations of BiH and other relevant institutions. The Strategy of the Public Administration Reform in BiH itself, on which the whole reform has been based, is harmonized with the Strategy of integrating BiH in the European Union.
Cooperation
What are the obligations of BiH on its path towards the Union, it is possible to see in the Stabilization and Association Agreement, by which the country obligated itself to adopt and implement “legislative, administrative, institutional and economic reforms”. 
In the Action plan of implementing the regulations of the Interim agreement and the SAA, a part related to the public administration reform, it has been precised: „Cooperation will as a goal have the improvement of development of an efficient and responsible public administration in BiH, by amending the reform efforts overtaken by now in this area. Cooperation in that area will mostly be directed to building the institutions, in harmonization with the demands of the European Partnership, and it will include the aspects such as draft and implementation of transparent and indifferent procedures of selecting the employees, coordinating the human resources and progressing in service, permanent training, promotion of ethic in the frame of public administration and strengthening the process of bringing the policies. While implementing the reforms, the attention will be dedicated to the goals of the fiscal sustainability, including the aspects of the fiscal structure as well. All the levels of public administration in BiH will be encompassed by cooperation.“
The implementation of the Strategy of the Public Administration Reform from 2006 is, because of that, one of the key priorities of the European Partnership in 2008. With the implementation of the Strategy, in this document has also been stated that there should be ensured that “the ministries and institutions on the state level become adequately financed, operational and appropriately equipped, especially in sense of the rooms and stuff”.
Detailed measures by which the achievement of this goal will be reached have been elaborated in the Action plan for realization of priorities from the European Partnership document, which has been adopted by the Council of Ministers of BiH on October 6th, 2008. Work of the PARCO, according to the Action plan, in the upcoming period will be directed in several directions:
- To improve the procedures of hiring based on the objective and quality based criterions, while ensuring the transparency and quick placing the civil servants who are qualified enough
- To harmonize the laws on civil service in order to build a responsible and efficient civil service based on professional criterions for progressing
- Implementation of the public administration reform and ensuring its sustainability, and enlargement of capacities for a gradual harmonization of the laws and implementation of the acquis.
Expectations are that both action plans of the public administration reform should be implemented until 2014.
Funds
Support for the reform activities BiH also expects from the IPA fund, whose first component is intended for the assistance in transition and strengthening the institutions. Strategic document for assignation of the assistance from the IPA fund is the Multi annual indicative planning document – MIPD). The MIPD is being done on the basis of the Multi-annual Indicative Financial Framework –MIFF), which is a connection between political frame stated in the Strategy of expansion of the Union and the process of planning and drafting the budget allocations of the EU, strictly intended for support to the expansion. The MIFF gives indicative financial sums of the IPA by countries users and by the components. The document is being prepared by the European Commission and for a period of three years. An exception was the first MIFF for a period between 2007 and 2010. The MIFF 2009 – 2011 represents an audit of the previous document.
(in millions of Euros)
| MIFF 2009. – 2011. for BiH | 2007. | 2008. | 2009. | 2010. | 2011. |
| Component I: Institutional building and transition support | 58.13 | 69.85 | 83.89 | 100.68 | 102.68 |
| Component II: Cross-border cooperation | 3.96 | 4.94 | 5.2 | 5.31 | 5.41 |
| Total for period 2009. – 2011. | 62.1 | 74.8 | 89.1 | 106 | 108.1 |
(Source:Directorate for European Integrations of BiH)
On the progress of the reform the PARCO regularly informs the Council of Ministers of BiH and all other relevant institutions. The PARCO prepares the information on progression of the reform for each meeting of the Monitoring reform process (RPM), which are regularly being held by the representatives of the European Commission and the Institutions of BiH. The public administration reform takes an important place in reporting on progress of the European Commission.
The PARCO will also participate in the work of the subcommittees for implementation of the Interim Stabilization and Association Agreement and the SAA, because of the harmonization of reform activities in the country and their directing in harmonization with the European demands.