Adequate Administrative Capacity is essential for a modern, efficient state which provides the services its citizens expect and contributes to the creation of a competitive economy that attracts investment.

BiH needs to align its legislation with the Acquis, to fulfil the country's objectives of European integration. In addition to this legal transposition, it also needs to build the institutional capacities to implement it efficiently, including profound changes, such as new institutions, where administrative structures cannot simply be imported. The EU does not prescribe a model for administration but it does assume that the foundations - such as sound financial management - are there.

Public Administration Reform

Public Administration Reform (PAR) was one the sixteen priorities in the Feasibility Study and is one of the six key European Partnership priorities. According to the EU-financed Functional and Systems Reviews carried out in 2004-2005, the main issues to be addressed are insufficient coordination and co-operation between different levels of public administration and the overlap of functions and responsibilities. The administration is poorly equipped and there is no coherent and shared vision of how administrative reform should be carried out.

The EU assists the Government of BiH in PAR through strengthening the systems of public administration and through administrative capacity building of selected key sectors. The EU has supported the Public Administration Reform Co-ordination Office with the design and implementation of a national PAR Strategy and Action Plan, which was adopted by all levels of government in 2006. Its implementation will make the public administration more effective, efficient and accountable, and will have a direct and positive impact on the lives of citizens.

A range of EU-funded actions has strengthened the systems of public administration. The General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers receives support to work towards full national responsibility for policy formulation and decision-making, and to help strengthen policy co-ordination between all levels of government. An e-government project aims to enhance the efficiency of the Council of Ministers through comprehensive and crosscutting IT, while a Human Resources Management Information System aims to create a single personnel database for the Civil Service Agencies.

Over € 2 million of EU funds have supported training projects and foreign language and European Computer Driving License courses for civil servants, while a scholarship scheme for civil servants enables them to study Masters' Degrees in European Integration in Universities in the EU.

The Ministry of Finance has received support to develop its institutional capacity, for the progressive process of decentralisation of financial and contractual management of EU assistance and pre-accession funds.

Total CARDS funding between 2001 and 2006 for Administrative Capacity Building and PAR follow-up totals €40 million.

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Twinning

Launched in May 1998, the Twinning programme is one of the principal tools of Institution Building accession assistance. Twinning aims to help beneficiary countries develop modern and efficient administrations, with the structures, human resources and management skills needed to implement the Acquis to the same standards as Member States. Twinning provides the framework for administrations and semi-public organisations in the beneficiary countries to work with their counterparts in Member States. Together they develop and implement a project that targets the transposition, enforcement and implementation of a specific part of the Acquis. A Twinning project sets out to deliver specific and guaranteed results, not to foster general co-operation. The parties agree in advance on a detailed work programme to meet an objective concerning priority areas of the Acquis. For example, the Harmonisation of Civil Service Training Programmes through the Twinning Light project for the Training Unit of the Civil Service Agency (CSA) aimed to strengthen the Unit by improving its internal organisation and allowing for better identification, design and delivery of training programmes.

To date, the following BiH Ministries and Institutions have benefited or are benefiting from twinning projects:

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Ministry of Justice
• Ministry of Communications and Transport
• Civil Service Agency
• Ministry of Civil Affairs
• Ministry of Finance and Treasury
• Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations
• Directorate for European Integration
• Ministry of Security
• State Border Service
• Communication Regulatory Agency
• Data Protection Commission
• General Secretariat of the BiH Council of Ministers
• State Veterinary Office
• Agencies for Statistics
• Legislation Office of the BiH Council of Ministers
• Border Police of BiH