EU gives Bosnia 44 mln euros
SARAJEVO (AFP) – The European Union yesterday donated 44 million euros ($56 million) to Bosnia to boost its economic development and consolidation as a democratic state. The assistance is to «support economic reforms and transition to a market economy, and to facilitate the integration of the Bosnian economy into EU structures,» deputy head of the European Commission in Bosnia Renzo Daviddi told journalists after signing the contract. It should also serve for «consolidation of the state of Bosnia as a democratic country that should be leading the process of integration of Bosnia into the EU,» he added. Part of the grant should also be used to strengthen Bosnian central institutions. Bosnia after the 1992-95 war comprises two semi-independent entities – the Serbs’ Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation. Bosnian Prime Minister Adnan Terzic said that 21 million euros ($27 million) would be allocated for economic and social development, and 19 million euros ($24 million) for reforms of public administration and justice. Since 2001, the EU has provided through its CARDS program 420 million euros ($540 million) to help Bosnia to recover from the war that left its economy in ruins.
