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The primary audience of this work is intended to be national and international stakeholders interested in the development of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The primary audience of the work is the diverse national and international stakeholders in the transport sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including government officials, decision makers, business people, operators, and most importantly, the users and beneficiaries of the system. In addition, the report is considered to be of potential value to multilateral and bilateral donor organizations, and other international organizations with an interest in this important subject, to focus discussions over investment priorities over the short to medium term.
2. the Institutional Framework for the Sector
Chapter 19:The European context -
The institutional framework for the transport sector in the Western Balkans is defined by the European Union. BH passed a major milestone to membership in the EU with the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) in June 2008. But in order to meet the requirements for accession, candidate countries are required to align domestic laws, rules and procedures to the body of community legislation in such a way that ensures that relevant EU law is fully reflected within the domestic legal framework. The relevant community legislation is contained in the acquis communautaire, which is constantly evolving as it reflects the contents, principles and objectives of the Treaties on which it is based. The acquis summarizes the requirements in a number of chapters, including transport7, each of which contains all relevant Directives, Regulations and Decisions, together with all principles of law and interpretations of the European Court of Justice, and all relevant Declarations and Resolutions of the Council of Ministers for that particular area. Candidate countries must bring their institutions, management capacity and administrative and judicial systems up to EU standards, both at national and regional level, as a prerequisite for membership in the European Union.
Chapter 20:The regional context -
There have also been several initiatives aimed at accelerating regional integration in South East Europe. The South East Europe Transport Observatory (SEETO) is a regional transport organization established by the Memorandum of Understanding for the development of the Core Regional Transport Network (MoU) signed June 11, 2004 by the Governments of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Montenegro and Serbia and the United Nations Mission in Kosovo and the European Commission. The aim of SEETO is to promote cooperation on the development of the main and ancillary infrastructure on the multimodal South East Europe Core Regional Transport Network and to promote and enhance local capacity for the implementation of investment programs, management and data collection and analysis on the Core Regional Transport Network. An addendum to the MoU was signed in December 2007 to enhance regional cooperation in the South East European Railway Transport Area,8 and, more particularly, on improving rail market access, opening the national market, facilitating border crossings and ensuring a high level of technical interoperability between signatories.
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More recently, the EU has launched negotiations on a Western Balkan Transport Community Treaty. An initiative was launched in March 5, 2008 to accelerate EU pre-accession preparations with Western Balkan countries, including a proposed Western Balkan Transport Community Treaty.9 The proposed Transport Treaty aims to work towards an integrated market for road, rail, inland waterways, and maritime transport in the West Balkans region—the region includes Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYROM, Montenegro, Serbia, and Kosovo—and to align the relevant legislation in the Western Balkans with EU legislation. It is also expected to help accelerate the integration of transport systems and to harmonize rules on safety, environmental protection and services, as well as facilitating the expansion of the trans-European transport network. The European Commission opened negotiations on the Transport Treaty on June 24 2008.
Chapter 21:The national context -
The institutional framework for the transport sector is a legacy of the Dayton Peace Accords. Under the Dayton Peace Accords, the responsibilities for air transport and the regulation of transport between the two entities [the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBH) and the Republika Srpska (RS)] were assigned to the state level, whereas the responsibility for infrastructure was given to the respective entities10. The problem this legacy has created is clearly illustrated in the road sector, where there are three Laws on Public Roads,11 one in each entity and one in Brčko Administrative District (BAD),12 and a further draft under preparation at the state level. The result is both different arrangements for the management of different levels of the road network within each domain, and confusion over institutional responsibilities regarding the development of the strategic road network, the SEETO Core network, and the Pan-European network. The same problems are manifest in the other sub-sectors to a greater or lesser extent.
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The 2003 Law on Ministries established the MOCT at the state level. This initiative was an attempt to address the inherent problems and additional transaction costs resulting from this cumbersome institutional framework. This law endowed the new body with responsibilities in respect of international coordination, international agreements and international transport links. However, so far, there has been little subsequent success in defining the primary legislation to provide an appropriate basis for this mandate, and a draft state Law on Roads has been under preparation, awaiting agreement amongst stakeholders, for a number of years. There remains a lack of agreement on which level is responsible for defining national strategies and priorities, and possibly not surprisingly, a lack of agreement on what the actual strategy should be, or the priorities are, at a national level.
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