September 24, 2012, the conference "The Path to Recovery - A Response to the Crisis" was held in Sarajevo. The organizer was the Center for Policy and Management (CPU), participants were specialists with backgrounds in transport, public spending and investment in the country - areas considered to be drivers of the development and exit from the crisis, during the recession and global crisis in the world.
Nermin Niksic, Prime Minister of the Federation BiH, and Peter Sorenson, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to BiH, welcomed the participants. They spoke about appropriate programs and projects for global recovery that international community and Bosnia and Herzegovina officials are looking for.
”There are no immediate solutions for the economic recovery of the countries, while Bosnia and Herzegovina also needs to prepare for Croatia's entry into the EU, as it can easily lose the big market, subsequently a huge number of jobs. That is why BiH needs to improve its fiscal policy and reduce public spending, and must focus on two sectors: transport infrastructure and energy”, said Peter Sorenson.
Nermin Nikšić explained that the FBiH Government is focusing its activities on the implementation of a series of structural reforms aimed at improving economic competitiveness, reconstruction of companies and key industries, as well as investment projects in the infrastructure and energy.
Three panels were organized: Public Spending and Investments During the Crisis; Public Investments - Energy, and Public Investment - Transport. The introductions were held by: Goran Miraščić, Member of the Advisory Group of the Fiscal Council of BiH (Public Consumption); Lejla Drangić, Center for Policy and Management (Energy) and Anes Makul, Center for Policy and Management (Transport). The speakers were also Alabela Abreu, Head of the World Bank Office in BiH, Milan Cuc, IMF Representative in BiH, Miroslav Tomić, Advisor to the Minister of Finance of BiH, Elvedin Grabovica, Director of Elektroprivreda BiH, Nikola Krešić, Director of Elektroprivreda HZHB, Mirza Kušljugić, Energy Expert, Enver Bijebić, Federation of BiH Traffic and Communications Minister, Ensad Karić, Director of Roads in FBiH and Josip Polić, EBRD BiH.
Given that in the economic and social development policy of Bosnia and Herzegovina, public investments in energy and transport have a strategic role, the participants of the Conference discussed and adopted several recommendations:
- It is necessary to continue with accelerated activities in the construction of road infrastructure;
- Improve the business climate, reform taxes, and create a credible privatization plan;
- Reduce the tax burden on labor, simplify taxes and tax payment processes;
- VAT should be kept at a relatively low rate, but the payment efficiency should be increased;
- salaries in the public sector should be considered and brought in line with the countries of the region and other countries with a similar level of income per capita;
- to review the organizational structure in all institutions, to eliminate duplication of competencies within an institution, to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the employees;
- further financial depts should be made with utmost caution, with a purpose exclusively for public investment;
- It is necessary to better coordinate macro-fiscal policies at BiH level.
Rajko Živković and Alisa Rešidović participated the Conference on behalf of the Federal Institute for Programming Development.