Officials from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union met in Brussels on 29 April 2025 for the 8th meeting of the Sub-committee on trade, industry, customs and taxation, under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between the European Union and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The meeting was opened by Heinke Veit, Deputy Head of Unit and co-chaired by Katarzyna Sobieraj, Economic and Trade Policy Officer for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighborhood. On the side of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the meeting was opened and co-chaired by Ms Brankica Pandurević, Assistant Minister in the BiH Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations.

During the meeting, the parties discussed developments in the areas mentioned above and exchanged detailed trade statistics. The Commission underlined that deepening EU-related reforms in all sectors under discussion will help Bosnia and Herzegovina advance in regional economic cooperation, integrate into the EU’s single market, and accelerate socio-economic convergence with the EU. It will significantly accelerate the speed of the enlargement process, boost the growth of BiH economy and create more jobs for the citizens.  The Commission reiterated that having functioning SAA dialogue is key to this end.

On trade matters, the Commission noted that the EU remains BiH’s main trading partner with a total bilateral trade over € 15.2 billion in 2024. In 2024, the EU accounted for over 64% of BiH’s total trade in goods. The EU welcomed that Bosnia and Herzegovina addressed the discriminatory practice of exclusion of certain imported medicines from the cantonal lists of medicines that can be prescribed and dispensed at the expense of compulsory health insurance and urged that this is also addressed in the last remaining Una-Sana canton. The EU reiterated its call for BiH to bring the legislation on excise duties in line with the EU acquis, notably on excise duties on beer. The EU also urged Bosnia and Herzegovina to finalise its accession to the WTO as a matter of priority, and stressed the importance of the Common Regional Market as a tool for boosting economic growth within the Western Balkans and as a setting stone to integration with the EU’s Single Market, which BiH stands to gain from. Finally, the EU urged BiH to fully implement the decision on mobility based on ID cards as soon as possible.

On the free movement of goods, the EU noted the preparation of the draft countrywide strategy for quality infrastructure and encouraged its implementation as soon as possible. The EU also encouraged BiH to continue alignment with European rules and practices in the area of standardisation, accreditation, metrology and market surveillance.

On industrial policy and SMEs, the EU stressed the need for coordination of the policy planning and implementation across entities and the Brcko District  . The EU also presented two policy instruments: The “Clean Industrial Deal”, which represents the Commission’s plan for competitiveness and decarbonisation of industry, and the Critical Raw Materials Act, which sets clear priorities for securing and sustainable access to critical raw materials for the EU economy. The EU noted progress in implementing the online business registration system and welcomed BiH engagement in the Single Market Programme. The EU also reiterated the importance of formulating and adopting a countrywide SME development strategy.

Finally, on taxation and customs, the EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina exchanged on the reduction of the overall labour tax wedge and the progress related to direct taxation, developments in VAT, excise duties for small breweries, e-signature and administrative cooperation. The EU called for the strengthening of the administrative and IT capacity and staffing levels (particularly IT and analytical staff) of the Indirect Taxation Authority. The EU also urged the BiH accession to the Common Transit Convention and stressed the need for close cooperation between BiH and the Commission in the preparation process. On the fight against customs fraud, the Commission requested an update on the functioning of the Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters mechanism and on progress and intentions for combating customs fraud, in particular regarding national inter-agency cooperation and the fight against tobacco smuggling.