Comité van de regio's: Werkgroep Westelijke Balkan bijeen in Sarajevo op 8 juli (en)

Denis Zvizdic, Chairman of the Sarajevo Canton Assembly, has invited the Committee of the Regions' Working Group on the Western Balkans and its Chairman, Jos Chabert, to hold its 5th meeting in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on 8 July 2008.

This meeting gathers members of the Committee of Regions and local and regional representatives from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Items to be discussed include:

EU-Bosnia and Herzegovina relations: recent political developments and challenges for local and regional authorities Role of local and regional authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EU in creating multicultural society

Speakers will include Sven Alkalaj, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Semiha Borovac, Mayor, City of Sarajevo and Samir Silajdzic, Prime-Minister of Sarajevo Canton.

A press point will be held from 13.30 to 14.00, in the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Committee of Regions has adopted last April an opinion on the EU enlargement strategy and main challenges for pre-candidate countries. Regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina, it welcomed "improvement in cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia" and "continuing reforms of local government: legislation of both entities regarding local self-government is compatible with the European Charter for Local Self-Government.

" But the Committee considers "that a further upgrade of administrative capacity is needed in order to implement the Stabilisation and Association Agreement successfully : local authorities' administrations and local government associations in both entities need further capacity building to be able to absorb and to fully benefit from European funds."

The Committee of Regions is now working on an opinion on the European perspective of the Western Balkans, to be adopted in October. Rapporteur František Knapík stresses "the need for further constitutional changes to make national institutions more functional and ensure that the ethnic factor ceases to be the determining factor in the running of Bosnian society" and supports the holding of local elections, as scheduled, in October 2008.

For more information, please contact:

Dennis Abbott

+32 0)2 282 20 99

+32 (0)2 282 20 85

Athénais Cazalis de Fondouce

+32 0)2 282 24 47

+32 (0)2 282 20 85