The president of the ZDS, Borut Meh, and Secretary General Jože Smole attended the two-day conference “How to move faster to Europe?” in Sarajevo, which took place on the 22nd and 23rd of October. Representatives of companies in Bosnia, the western Balkans and the EU attended the conference, which was organized by the Association of Employers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (APBIH) and the Association of Employers of Slovenia (ZDS).

Besides the representatives of BUSINESSEUROPE, Secretary General Philip de Buck and Vice-president Borut Meh, high ranking political representatives from the EU also took part in the debate. They emphasized the need for a united Bosnia and the urgency of reducing the bureaucratic obstacles for new investments. They also stressed the problem of corruption within the federal state. The secretary general of BUSINESSEUROPE, Philip De Buck, highlighted the importance of presentation and cohesion of employers in BIH in order for BIH to join BUSINESSEUROPE. The president of the Association of Employers of Slovenia, Borut Meh, presented the Slovene viewpoint on previous cooperation with BIH and emphasized the intention for even closer collaboration between the Associations of Employers of both countries, especially in the field of common projects, which are supported with EU funds, and also with an exchange of good practices and business cooperation with Slovene companies.

Bosnian employers stressed some of the problems which impede their business, such as the high level of bureaucracy and corruption, as well as little encouragement and help from the state. A big problem in Bosnia is the regime of visas, which is an obstacle to cooperation with foreign business partners and hinders access to large European market, which represents a great potential for BIH development. Employers in Bosnia also expressed the need for faster adjustment of legislation in the context of easier business cooperation with foreign countries, as well as the need for greater exploitation of EU funds in order to achieve rapid development of entrepreneurship in Bosnia.