BOSNIA TO ADOPT LEGISLATIVE CHANGES TO LAWS ON POLICE OFFICIALS

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (June 9,2008) - Associations that represent Bosnian policemen who were denied certification by the International Police Task Force Mission (IPTF) have announced new demonstrations outside the Office of the Internationa Community's High Representative in Bosnia (OHR) tomorrow.Without questioning the right to peaceful demonstrations OHR highlights that the UN Security Council on 30 April 2007 set the terms for lifting the lifetime ban on work in the Bosnian law enforcement institutions and equalised the rights of these Bosnian citizens with everybody else in Bosnia.

The United Nations is the only organisation that can review issues arising from decisions made by IPTF. In 2004 the OHR embarked on an intensive lobbing effort to persuade the UN and permanent members of the Security Council to address the issue of persons denied certification by IPTF.

When the UN Security Council in its letter of 30 April 2007 specified the legal conditions for lifting the lifetime ban on those denied certification by the IPTF to work in the Bosnian law enforcement agencies individuals who has been denied certification were given the same rights as others in Bosnia.

In their letter the UN Security Council requires the Bosnian State, Entity, Canton and Brcko District authorities to adopt legislative changes to their Laws on Police Officials. These institutions are responsible for ensuring those conditions are met.

Ultimately, this is a matter between Bosnia and the UN Security Council and Bosnia will need to fulfill its obligations.
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EU CARS DUTY-FREE IN BOSNIA FROM JANUARY 1, 2009

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (June 9,2008) - The cars manufactured in the European Union will be selling at considerably lower prices in Bosnia in a couple of months, and that will be one of the most evident signs of the country getting closer to the EU membership.

The Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between Bosnia and the EU will gradually cancel import tariffs on all products from the EU, which, market analysts believe, could cause a surge in the Bosnian automobile market. Its growth so far has been constant, but slow.

At the same time, the state will be left without millions of Bosnian Marks from tariff revenue. As soon as the SAA becomes effective, the current tariff of 16 per cent for cars will be cut in half, and from January 1, 2009, all tariffs in trade with the EU will be cancelled entirely.
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IMF CONCERNED ABOUT INCREASED PUBLIC SPENDING IN BOSNIA

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (June 9,2008) - The Bosnian Finance Minister Dragan Vrankic talked to the International Monetary Fund’s Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn in Amsterdam on June 7, about the current economic trends, macroeconomic and fiscal projections for the following period, Bosnia’s progress in the EU association process and the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between Bosnia and EU.

Minister Vrankic was invited to participate in the annual meeting of the IMF and the World Bank.

The IMF officials expressed concern about increasing pressure to up Bosnia’s public spending. Key challenges ahead of the Bosnian government include fighting inflation and growth of the current account deficit, along with a final solution for the problem of internal debt.
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CROATIA IS STEALING ENERGY FROM BOSNIA

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (June 9,2008) - Ante Colak, a member of the FBIH entity parliament, has accused the Croatian power company HEP on more than one occasion of threatening the energy sovereignty of Bosnia, because of the fact that HEP is refusing to pay a concession fee of 20 million Bosnian Marks for using the water from the Busko Blato artificial lake (for its hydro power stations on the Cetina).

Colak claims that HEP earns around 55 million Bosnian Marks a year on the water from that reservoir, but pays only 1.6 million Bosnian Marks. He accuses the HDZBiH Party of conspiring with HEP, and refusing to raise the issue of an adequate fee.
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