The European Commission Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Council of Europe and the Office of the High Representative (OHR)/ European Union Special Representative (EUSR) urge members of the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Commission of the BiH House of Representatives to support the state Higher Education Law at their tomorrow session. By doing so, and thus putting the draft law back into parliamentary procedure, they would help ensure that this long overdue legislation is speedily enacted. The law is essential to provide an appropriate legal framework for implementing the country’s obligations under the Bologna Process and Lisbon Convention, which together form the basis for a common European space in higher education. Adoption of a state-level higher education law is, moreover, an obligation that BiH has assumed as part of its European Partnership with the European Commission. The draft law is in line with the Bologna principles and draws on best European practice. Passage of this law would also send a positive signal to BiH’s European partners before the next ministerial-level follow-up meeting on the Bologna Process that is scheduled to take place in London in May. The other signatory countries have waited too long for BiH to deliver on its commitments. More importantly, so have the students, academics and citizens of this country. They have every right to expect their elected representatives to make up for lost time.
04.04.2007