BILL ON ENERGY REGULATOR, TRANSMISSION SYSTEM AND ELECTRICITY MARKET ADOPTED

SARAJEVO, DECEMBER 12 /SRNA/ - The House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH has adopted the Bill on the Energy Regulator, Transmission System, and Electricity Market in BiH in its second reading, which is crucial for the integration of renewable energy sources, ensuring supply security, and attracting investments.

The Bill was prepared in consultation with the relevant institutions at all levels of government. For the law to take effect, it also needs to be approved by the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH. Its adoption contributes to fulfilling obligations under the Energy Community Treaty and the Stabilization and Association Agreement. The law will create the conditions for the establishment of an organized electricity market, the formation of a power exchange, and its integration with regional and EU markets, which was also a prerequisite for exemption from the Cross-Border Carbon Adjustment Mechanism /CBAM/. The Bill was approved by 31 MPs, with two voting against and five abstaining. A resolution was also adopted requesting that the House of Peoples consider this legislative act under an urgent procedure. An amendment proposed by HDZ BiH MPs Predrag Kožul to establish the regulator’s headquarters in Mostar did not receive the required majority. The MPs adopted the proposed amendments to the Election Law of BiH, submitted by SDA MPs, with 29 voting in favor and nine against. The negative opinions of the Constitutional-Legal Committee on the Bill on State Property and on the Bill on the Criminal Code were not accepted, and the Committee was requested to provide a new opinion. The initiative submitted by MP Šemsudin Mehmedović was adopted, obliging the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH to require the Council of Ministers to conduct its work with full transparency and to immediately begin publishing on time on its website all documents related to the sessions of the Council of Ministers, except for those classified as "secret." The initiative submitted by MP Nihad Omerović was also adopted, obliging the Council of Ministers to establish dedicated counters for BiH citizens at passport control in airports across BiH within 90 days from the adoption of this initiative. The House of Representatives also approved the appointment of seven members to the Management Board of the Agency for the Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance. The appointed members are Marko Odak, Goran Marković, Vedad Smailagić, Senada Karajbić, Vedad Pašić, Nikola Lapčević, and Mladen Kustura. Consent was also given for the ratification of the agreement between the EU and BiH on BiH’s participation in the Employment and Social Innovation Program of the European Social Fund Plus. The Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, Marinko Čavara, concluded today’s session and stated that MPs will be timely informed about the date of the next session.