On 4 April, at a ceremony in Sarajevo, the Chair of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Borjana Krišto handed over the countersigned Financing Agreement for the EU Energy Support package to the Head of the EU Delegation and EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Johann Sattler. The European Commission will therefore soon disburse the first instalment (90%) of the €70 million package, which will provide assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s most vulnerable households to cope with rising prices as well as support energy transition.

The Financing Agreement will be sent to the European Commission with a report outlining how the Action Plan for the Energy Support Package, approved by the BiH Council of Ministers on 22 December 2022, will be implemented. The report describes the methodologies and criteria by which the funds will be disbursed by the relevant BiH authorities, as well as the expected number of beneficiaries and timeframe for implementation. Of the €70 million allocated in immediate assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina, €50 million has been allocated to support vulnerable households, and €20 million to support energy efficiency efforts.

The authorities in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska and Brčko District, will work on the disbursement of funds through relevant entity ministries and entity environment protection funds and administrative units in Brčko District.

 The Energy Support Package for the Western Balkans was announced at the end of October last year by the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the beginning of her visit to the region. The overall package is worth one billion euros in grants with €500 million allocated as immediate assistance for the region. Another €500 million is allocated as medium to long-term support in grants for investments in support to energy efficiency and energy independence, through improving gas and electricity infrastructure and interconnectors including LNG.