Dear Mr President Verbeek,

Dear Secretary General Kiefer,

Dear Director Benitez,

Dear colleagues and friends,

It gives me a great pleasure and honour to participate and present at today’s meeting. I will take the opportunity to share some information about our Association and our fruitfull cooperation with CoE, and would like to thank CoE for all the support we are receiving in strenghtening the position of local self-government in BiH.

Having in mind that BiH has ratified the EU Charter on Local Self Government that commits the parties to applying basic rules guaranteeing the political, administrative and financial independence of local authorities, and that provides that the principle of local self-government shall be reckognised in domestic legislation and, where practicable, in the constitution, the main role of the Association is to represent and protect the interests of local self-government units before higher levels of government. In the formal sense, the Association has a very important position for the reason that the Law on Principles of Local Self-Government in the FBiH defines the role of the Association as the sole legal representative of all local self-government units in the Federation of BiH.

With a view to representing the interests of its members, the Association has a signed Agreement with the Government of the Federation of BiH (2011), Code on Inter-administrative Relations (2012), and Agreement with the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament (2019). Considering the overall social and political set-up, issues faced by local self-government units and legal status of the Association, its role and importance are even greater. Through its active engagement, the Association has increasingly become recognized by both higher levels of government and international actors and institutions as an indispensable factor in reform processes and continuous improvement of local self-government in all its dimensions, acting also as a link between local and higher levels of government. Same applies to the Association of municipalities and cities of Republika Srpska. Cooperation between municipalities and cities and the two associations is very fulfilling and a good example for the higher levels of authorities. This is primarily the result of support and participation of the members – municipalities and cities in the work of the Association, which has given strength to the Association and legitimacy to its engagement in representing the interests of local self-government units. At the same time, continuous interaction with the membership, on the one hand, and with higher levels of government, as well as with domestic and international institutions of interest, on the other, have paved the way for the Association to identify and clearly articulate the needs of its membership for different forms of support for capacity strengthening of local self-government aimed at more efficient work and delivery of better quality services to citizens, businesses and society as a whole.

Focusing on the preparation of analyses, policies and stances, the Association, with support of its members, has become an indispensable partner in the processes of decentralization and representation of the members’ interests. In the previous period, the Association achieved many successes in realizing cooperation with higher levels of government, but also with other stakeholders, continuously strengthening its position in the processes of representing the members’ interests. 

I am pleased that the Association togehter with Association of Municipalities and Cities of the Republic of Srpska has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the implementation of Project „Innovating democratic particpation at local level in BiH“ under the CoE Action Plan for BiH 2022-2025., where the Association will have an important role in:  

­        Promotion and integration of European standards for local democracy in the strategic orientation of the Associations and services offered to their members, in particular Council of Europe and Congress recommendations related to open government, deliberative and participatory democracy, gender equality and human rights;

­        Contribution to the implementation of the Council of Europe project “Innovating democratic participation at local level in Bosnia and Herzegovina” by providing advice on the developments and challenges for advancing local democracy and by encouraging peer-to-peer approach and knowledge-sharing, including with peer associations in other European countries;

­        Fostering the dialogue with and between local and central authorities and civil society organisations to promote and advocate for implementation of open government principles and to contribute to upholding Bosnia and Herzegovina’s national commitments in this regard;

­        Providing support to local authorities, selected jointly with the Congress, in the development of their capacities and their introduction to policies and practices that promote open government, public ethics, as well as transparent, inclusive and participatory local policy making, thereby enhancing the quality of local democracy and the overall resilience of local communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We are sure that with this continuous support, coupled with our newly addopted Strategy, Association will continue to grow and enhance the position of local self government bringing it closer to EU standards and practices, hence providing better living conditions for our citizens implementing strategic principles of equality and solidarity, sustainable decentralization, depoliticization and professionalization of public administration, modernization of public administration at the local level, gender equality and prevention of all forms of discrimination, participation of citizens in the management of public affairs, vertical and horizontal cooperation and the principles of good management practices.