Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Submission of the EU Membership Application: The Main Challenges Ahead

More than 20 years after the Dayton Accords, many things have changed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The country’s recently submitted EU membership application clearly indicates where Bosnia and Herzegovina sees itself in the future. This is not only a decision made by the political elite, since more than 70 percent of the Bosnian and Herzegovinian population support the country’s EU accession. Yet the question is “Have enough things changed?” What are the possibilities of attaining self-sustaining political institutions and practices in Bosnia and Herzegovina so that the international intervention in the country (OHR, EUFOR Althea) can be meaningfully concluded? What is the role of European integration in this process? What are the implications of the EU accession process for the country’s justice and home affairs policy? And last but not least, how is the Czech development assistance involved in this process, and should it be involved more or differently?

Programme:

14:30 – 15:00 Registration

15:00 – 15:15 Welcome Words and Presentation of Speakers

15:15 – 16:45 Panel I

• Tomáš Dopita, Research Fellow, Institute of International Relations Prague

The working of the coordination mechanism for EU integration and the implementation of the reform agenda

The publication of the population census and its implications

Implications of the Sejdić-Finci case

Relations with neighbouring countries

• Jan Kovář, Research Fellow, Institute of International Relations Prague

Recent developments within Bosnia and Herzegovina’s accession process in terms of justice and home affairs policy, as the policy area for which the EU allocates most of its funds and efforts pertaining to the reform process

The development in the field of internal security, in particular, organised crime and terrorist threats, and the role of cooperation with the EU

The potential impact of the migration crisis on Bosnia and Herzegovina and its relations with the EU in the field of migration and asylum policy

• Manuel Munteanu, Political Desk, Albania & Bosnia and Herzegovina, DG NEAR

The submission of the EU membership application is one of the most important milestones in the recent history of Bosnia and Herzegovina. What is the current state of play and what are the most complex challenges that need to be met and reforms that need to be carried out in preparing Bosnia and Herzegovina for the EU accession?

Discussion

16:45 – 17:15 Coffee break

17:15 – 18:15 Panel II

• Radka Pudilová, Expert on Civil Society and Education (in Developing Countries)

The role of civil society in the process of EU accession
Education, youth and the cost of brain drain

• Štěpán Šantrůček, Project Manager Western Balkans, Czech Development Agency

The Czech contribution to the reform process in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with concrete examples
The Czech Development Agency’s projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina – lessons learnt and challenges ahead

Discussion

Chair of both panels: Jan Blažek, Institute of International Relations Prague

Working language - English