The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN)
Policy approach in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and
Herzegovina (BiH) is one of the 36 partner countries worldwide with
which the Netherlands
has a substantive bilateral development cooperation programme. After having
focused predominately on the facilitating of minority return and creating
stability in the aftermath of the war, the programme is currently shifting,
increasingly concentrating on the creation of sustainable, transparent, and
accountable governance structures, in line with criteria prescribed by the
European Union (EU) accession process and concentrating on the development of a
business climate inclusive of private sector development and foreign direct
investment.
In the coming years the bilateral
development assistance for BiH will be gradually phased-out and transformed
from a more traditional development relationship into a relation geared towards
EU accession. This new relationship comes with its own instruments, like the
programme for societal transformation (Matra), for which BiH will qualify in
January 2008.
Harmonization with other donors, and
where possible, the alignment of assistance, are clear priorities for the EKN
over the current, four-year period. Strategic issues for the 2005-2008 period
are the following: broad, nation-wide acceptance of, and progress in, a
BiH-owned reform agenda supporting the EU accession process and in line with
the BiH’s Medium-Term Development Strategy (MTDS); implementation of a national
and regionally accepted solution for the remaining refugees and Internally
Displaced Persons (IDPs), including an integration of policies in support of
sustainable return into the more general socio-economic recovery programmes
(with a special emphasis on the Srebrenica area); improvement of donor
coordination and donor harmonization in support of Sector Wide Approaches
(SWAs) where possible.
EKN has traditionally focused on
post-conflict support and peace building. In recent years the emphasis has
shifted more towards Good Governance, Legal and Judicial Reform, Institution Building, and Economic Development and
Social Protection. The Embassy is under parliamentary obligation to spend a
third of the ODA budget on activities related to Srebrenica, which include
sustainable return programmes and psycho-social assistance.
Allocation and activities in 2007
In 2007, the Netherlands’s total allocation was
approximately € 16.9 million. The
largest share of funding was allocated to Cross-cutting activities (€ 6.8
million), which include the Return and Reintegration of refugees. The Local
Governance and Good Governance and Institution
Building sectors, particularly Public
Administration Reform (PAR) and Legal and Judicial Reform also featured high in
the Netherlands’
sector allocation.
Contact
information
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Address: Grbavička
4, 71000 Sarajevo,
BiH
Phone: +387 33.562.600
Fax: +387 33.223.413
Email: sar@minbuza.nl
Web addresses: www.minbuza.nl;
http://bosnieherzegovina.nlambassade.org
