European Central Bank (ECB) has introduced a new programme of technical cooperation with the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH), in collaboration with a number of euro area national central banks (NCBs).
European Union (EU) has assigned EUR1m to the programme from its Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). The aim of the programme is to support the CBBH in its efforts to implement the central banking standards of the EU in preparation for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s accession to the EU. The 18-month programme, a follow-up to the needs assessment programme carried out in 2007, will start from April 1, 2010.
The programme will cover six different areas, the first three of which follow up on the recommendations from the aforementioned 2007 programme that include statistics; economic analysis and research; financial stability; harmonisation of legislation with the EU; coordination of integration with the EU; and improvement of the IT services at the CBBH.
The programme will involve experts from the ECB, the Deutsche Bundesbank, the Bank of Greece, the Banco de Espana, the Banca d’Italia, De Nederlandsche Bank, the Oesterreichische Nationalbank and Banka Slovenije. Moreover, the ECB will dispatch a coordinator to Sarajevo for the duration of the programme.