1. Basic information

1.1. Programme:

Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) - National Programme for 2012 under IPA Transition Assistance and InstitutionBuilding (TAIB) Component

1.2. Twinning Number:

BA 12 IB JH 01

1.3. Title:

Enhancing the role of parliaments in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the EU integration context

1.4. Sector:

Public Administration Reform

1.5. Beneficiary country:

Bosnia and Herzegovina

2. Objectives

2.1 Overall Objective:

The overall objective is to enhance the role of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the National Assembly of Republika Srpska and the Brcko District Assembly in the accession process of Bosnia and Herzegovinato the EU and the implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement.

2.2 Project purpose:

The project purpose is to strengthen the capacity of Members of Parliament and parliamentary administrations of the parliaments in BiH[1]for strategic guidance of the EU accession process, improved alignment of legislation with EU law and effective oversight functions and to enhance cooperation and coordination of the parliaments of BIH in these processes.

2.3 Contribution to National Development Plan/Cooperation agreement/Association Agreement/Action Plan

Link with SAA/IA

Strengthening the capacity of the parliaments for carrying out their role in the EU accession process contributes to the fulfilment of the objectives of the SAA, which include “supporting efforts to strengthen democracy and the rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina, contributing to political, economic and institutional stability in BiH and the wider region; providing a framework for political dialogue, allowing for the development of close political relations between the EU and BiH, as well as supporting the development of economic cooperation and international cooperation in BiH, including through the approximation of its legislation to that of the Community”.

The political dialogue between BiH and EU will be strengthened through the establishment and functioning of the Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee set in Article 121 of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement as a forum for Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina and of the European Parliament to meet and exchange views, once the SAA enters into force.The Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee shall establish its rules of procedure. It will be chaired in turn by a member of the European Parliament and by a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in accordance with the provisions to be laid down in its rules of procedure.

Link with MIPD

Strengthening the capacities of MPs and parliamentary staff (as a part of the civil service) is crucial for achieving the MIPD 2011-2013 PAR objective “Support the alignment of the legislative framework with the European acquis in all accession relevant sectors, including, if appropriate, domestic efforts to amend the constitutional framework, and help creating an efficient, professional, merit-based, accountable and transparent civil service".

By installing mechanisms for participation of civil society in the parliamentary decision-making in the context of the EU-accession process, the project will also contribute towards “enabling civil society to participate in policy formulation and decision making processes”, as one of the MIPD indicators in the PAR sector.

Link with national/ sector plans (where applicable)

The Action Plan for Implementation of the Priorities of the European Partnership 2008 adopted by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina sets actions to be taken by the Parliaments of BiH. These include strengthening general administrative capacities (policy creation, quality of legislation, redistribution of capacities among institutions, specialisation, IT support to law drafting, etc.). In addition, improvement of checking compliance of legislation with the EU acquis, enhancing Regulatory impact assessment, enhanced access to legislation (data bases, consolidated versions of laws, etc.) are planned. Measures to align human resources policies and to consolidate the definition and scope of the public administration are also envisaged. Specifically strengthening the capacities of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina is planned, as well as methodologies for deliberating audit reports by the Assembly.

The Action Plan for Implementation of the provisions of the Interim Agreement and the Stabilization and Association Agreement, adopted by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovinanotes the establishment of the Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee.

In line with the Strategy for Public Administration Reform adopted by the State Council of Ministersand the two entities’governmentsin 2005 aiming at development of general administrative capacity in the administration, through the reform of core horizontal systems and governance structures, theparliaments of BiH adopted and implemented uniform rules for law drafting, which has been realised.

3. Description

3.1Background and justification:

The parliaments of Bosnia and Herzegovinaplay a limited role in the EU accession process of the country and strongly rely on the respective governments in deliberating and making decisions on EU-related issues. The capacity of parliamentary administrationsisunderdeveloped in terms of providing adequate support to MPs, parliamentary committees and the chambers on EU-related issues. Nevertheless, capacities differ in the different parliaments.

According to the EC 2012 Progress Report

"There has been some progress in the functioning of the Parliamentary Assembly. A reorganisation of the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly has been adopted, setting up two new sectors in the Secretariat9. A general lack of political will continued to hamper the efficiency of the Parliamentary Assembly’s work. Temporary financing of State-level institutions held back the strengthening of the Parliamentary Assembly’s administrative capacity. At Entity level, the overall functioning of the Parliamentary Assemblies has continued to be satisfactory, with the EU Integration Committees focusing more on IA/SAA-related obligations. However, the political reshuffle in the Federation hampered the functioning of its Parliamentary Assembly."

However it is assessed that

"Cooperation between the Entity Parliaments, the State-level Parliamentary Assembly and the State-level Council of Ministers regarding EU-related matters needs to improve in order to ensure coordinated and harmonised alignment with EU legislation throughout the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina."

"The functioning of the Federation Parliamentary Assembly has been hampered by a lack of

systematic coordination with other legislators in the Entity and by efforts to establish a new

parliamentary majority. The work of the parliamentary committees was affected by frequent

lack of quorum and inadequate premises."

Lack of mutual information and cooperation on the legislative programs of the parliaments (adopted on the basis of the respective rules of procedure of each parliamentary assembly) mirrors the situation at government level. The production of legislation at different governance levels, according to the complex distribution of competences, along with overlapping, results in difficult access to adopted legislation for citizens and businesses.

The role of parliaments is especially important concerning strategic guidance of the EU accession process. However, at present, a more substantial input of MPs in creating the EU accession agenda of the country is missing.

The SAA (Article 70) foresees that approximation with EU acquis should be implemented on the basis of a Programme agreed between the European Commission and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition to the Programme, the manner of monitoring of its implementation is to be agreed between EC and BiH. The National Program for EU integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a respective coordination structure for its implementation have been discussed, key documents prepared but due to no political agreement BiH is still without coordination mechanism and without Programme of Integration. Who does what and when regarding EU legislation is still not defined. It is expected that the Program present a basis for the annual plans of executive and legislative bodies in BiH. In order to fulfil this role, it is vital that the parliaments are involved in the design of the Program and that adequate monitoring mechanisms of its implementation in all the parliaments are established and implemented.

The need to enhance the role of parliaments is also important in light of the monitoring of the Stabilization and Association process – the implementation of the Interim agreement and the SAA upon its entering into force. Furthermore, the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH need to develop its capacity in order to pursue a fruitful dialogue within the Parliamentary Stabilization and Association Committee, which is to be formed following the entering into force of the SAA.

Parliaments in BiH have established practices for oversight of compliance with EU law, but exclusively rely on the assessment of the respective governments on the level of compliance. The Directorate for European Integration at state level provides opinions on the level of alignment of laws to the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH (PA BiH).Opinions on compliance to the National Assembly of Republika Srpska (NARS) are provided by the entity’s Ministry for European Integration and Regional Cooperation. However BiH Parliamentary Assembly lacks the capacity to review compliance of the amendments that are submitted during the legislative procedure with the EU law. The EC Progress report 2011 assesses as low the capacity of the General Secretariat of the Federation and the legislative office in the Brcko government for monitoring alignment of legislation with EU law.

Uniform rules for law drafting in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina have been adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH in 2005 and are largely seen by parliamentary officials as an important factor for improving quality of law drafting. Uniform rules in line with the above-mentioned ones have also been issued by the National Assembly of Republika Srpska in 2006 and the Brcko District Assembly.

Legislative procedure in general consists of two readings in committees and in the plenary.

The creation and operation of specific committees for EU integration in the PA BiH, the PFBiH and the NARS are assessed as positive steps towards an enhanced role of parliaments in the EU accession process.Moreover, their initiative to create a forum for cooperation of the committees in charge of EU issues is seen as good common ground for improved cooperation and coordination of activities of the parliaments in BiH.

The capacity of the other working committees regarding the EU accession process is limited and there is a need for more active involvement of the competent committees in deliberation on EU-related issues within their remit. Constitutional and Legislative committees also have an important role to play in the EU integration process as according to their ToRs, these committees are in charge of the consistency of laws with the Constitution and the legal system.

A structured and regular monitoring mechanism of the EU integration process is lacking in all parliaments, despite the commendable efforts of the specialized EU-committees. Oversight mechanisms in general have improved in the parliaments, especially concerning oversight of the budget and deliberation on audit reports. Oversight of independent and regulatory bodies, most of which are established and highly significant in the framework of the EU integration process and implementation of the EU acquis should be strengthened.

Parliaments and their administrations need to be more consistently involved in the PAR process. The process of strategic planning in the parliaments of BiHis being developed – some parliaments have advanced in the process, while others have just initiated it. The management of the parliaments’ resources needs to be improved in order to enhance their overall capacities.While a number of training programs for parliamentary staff have been implemented, the need for specialized training in EU matters both for staff and MPs is high. It is of utmost importance that trainings are embedded in an established human resources policy for parliaments’ staff.

Awareness among MPs and parliamentary staff on the need for a more essential contribution of parliaments in the accession process is high. High ownership of the project is demonstrated, as the twinning project is a result of the initiative of the chair of the House of Representatives of the PA BiH, the chair of the House of Representatives of the PFBiH and the President of the NARS in 2009 who established a joint coordinative body for the preparation of the project.

3.2Linked activities:

The EU funded project Support to the BH Government for the European Integration process and Co-ordination of Community Assistance – Phase III has contributed to the efforts of elaboration of the Draft National Program for EU Integration which is not adopted yet due to lacking EU coordination mechanism and lack of political agreement. The future Programme of Integration should be the anchor for the programs of the governments and parliaments and should clearly define who does what and when regarding EU Acquis.

The USAID Parliamentary Strengthening Project in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2009-2012) has assisted in promoting inter-parliamentary coordination; improving and increasinglinkages among parliaments, MPs, and citizens; and assisting the State parliament to increase effectiveness in performing its deliberation and oversight functions, developing anICT strategy and development of BiH PA's Document Management System, and the creation of the EU visitor’s centre.

The OSCE has implemented several initiatives to assist Parliamentary staff in supporting the work of MPs, such as developing the Strategic Plan for 2008-2010 for PA BiH, establishing a Research Centre in Parliament.Focus Areas of OSCE assistance are: Strategic planning and implementation, IT and digitalization of parliamentary procedures, internal management and communication, Committee support, Rules of Procedure and Parliamentary Oversight.The current joint project of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the British Embassy Modernizing entity parliaments and Brcko District Assembly for Europe today, which will last until mid-2013 covers the same focus areas, but is targeting entity parliaments.

The EU funded project Presidency of BiH though comprehensive informatization programme, which includes the introduction of specialized e-services consisting of document management system, eSession, and Intranet (relevant given the communication and cooperation with PA and Presidency BiH) – IPA 2009.

The EU funded project DMS and eArchive within IPA 2010. The new system will utilise some of the existing ICT infrastructure – which will enable efficient implementation and usage. Furthermore, system will be implemented with existing applications, including electronic registry system and Intranet portal, directly contributing to effectiveness and efficiency of parliamentary work – with respect to twinning and electronic legislation system at the PA of BiH level.

  • The EU funded project Strengthening Public Finance Management Project (SPEM) I, II, III, IV

The overall goal of Strengthening of Public Expenditure Management Project was to ensure public finances are increasingly effective at delivering the national priorities of the Governments in BiH, including enlargement processes, through development and implementation of a comprehensive medium-term, gender-sensitive budget planning process linked to government policy priorities. The project strengthened public finance management supervision toward a more complete, accountable, transparent and gender sensitive financial resources planning, management, reporting and auditing.

  • E-Legislation System to strengthen the capacities of the Parliaments and contribute to reformed, efficient, transparent and service oriented public administration capable of leading BiH through the EU integration processes, trough ensuring the streamlining and harmonization of legislative processes at the state level (including the legislative proceedings of PA of BiH and CoM of BiH), entity level (Parliament of FBiH and Parliament of RS) and DB level(planned to be supported from IPA 2013)

3.3Results:

It is necessary to strengthen all the parliaments in line with relevant constitutional arrangements and competences of each of the parliament.

The mandatory results to be achieved are:

  1. Role of parliaments in BIH in the strategic guidance of the EU accession process improved

Indicators:

Number of plenary sessions and items debated related to the EU accession process;

Percentage of recommendations by parliaments related to the EU accession process followed up by Government;

Mechanism for planning and monitoring of the work of parliaments based on the National Programme for EU integration is installed and functioning;

Regular consultation mechanism with EU coordinating structure (when established) is installed and functioning (alternative: participation of representatives of parliamentary assemblies in the EU coordinating structure is ensured)

Working methods of Parliamentary Stabilisation and Association Committee established and support ensured.

  1. Streamlined and implemented procedures for co-ordinated planning and monitoring of the process of approximation of legislation with the acquis

Indicators:

ToRs of parliamentary working bodies are mapped in terms of responsibility of parliamentary working bodies for approximation with the acquis and implementation of the SAA/IA;

Percentage of adopted legal of planned legal acts for transposition of the acquis/implementation of the SAA;

Number of transposed EU measures through legislative acts adopted by parliaments;

Number and percentage of legal acts adopted by parliaments (from all legal acts) related to approximation with the acquis and implementation of the SAA/IA.

E-legislation tool embedded in the procedure for approximation of legislation;

Mechanism of information sharing with Council of Ministers/governments on the legislative procedures for alignment with the acquis installed.

  1. Oversight mechanisms of the EU accession process strengthened (the mechanism is already in place at state level), including proper reporting mechanisms of governments and supervisory and regulatory bodies

Indicators:

Number and regularity of reports on the progress of the EU accession process submitted by government and deliberated by specialized EU committees and responsible committees;

Number of comprehensive annual reports submitted by supervisory and regulatory bodies on regular basis and debated in responsible committees and in the plenary;

Level of follow-up of recommendations delivered by parliaments.

  1. Structured participation of CSO in EU-related activities of parliaments and increased visibility of the Parliaments in the EU accession process

Indicators:

Legal mechanisms for CSOs participation in Parliament’s activities related to the EU accession process established and practiced;

Number of EU-related public hearings in parliaments with participation of CSOs;

Parliaments’ EU integration communication strategy adopted and implemented;