The Federation Government must fulfill, without further delay, its long standing constitutional obligation to move five ministries to Mostar, the Senior Deputy High Representative, Martin Ney, has stated in a letter to Federation Prime Minister Ahmet Hadzipasic.
“Commitment to the fulfillment of this process is an obligation under the constitution of the Federation of BiH,” Ambassador Ney said. “If the situation remains unchanged and the constitutional requirements are not respected, the High Representative may consider any appropriate action to complete this process before the end of the year.”
The five ministries are: Trade & Tourism; Development, Entrepreneurship & Craft; Transport & Communication; Energy, Mining & Industry; and Education & Science.
In his letter, Ambassador Ney reminds the Prime Minister of his earlier commitment that he will invite any minister who is unwilling to implement the relocation to leave his Government.
The Government Commission charged with organizing the move has already rented appropriate office space in Mostar, but responsibility for the move itself rests with individual Ministers.
The Ministries of Trade and Development have each completed the move. The Ministry of Transport has only three staff members still based in Sarajevo . However, the Ministry of Energy and especially Ministry of Education still have to move the substantial remaining portion of their administrative capacity to Mostar. In particular, Education Minister Zija Pasic has even suggested maintaining a “branch office” in Sarajevo that would be much bigger than the ministry in Mostar.
Moving the five ministries to Mostar is a PIC requirement, reiterated explicitly in the Communiqué issued by the Political Directors following their meeting in Brussels in April this year.