The European Commission as the executive arm of the European Union embodies and upholds the general interest of the Union and acts as a driving force in the integration process.
- It has the right to initiate draft legislation and therefore presents legislative proposals to Parliament and the Council;
- As the Union's executive body, it is responsible for implementing the European legislation (directives, regulations, decisions), budget and programmes adopted by Parliament and the Council;
- It acts as guardian of the Treaties and, together with the Court of Justice, ensures that Community law is properly applied;
- It represents the Union on the international stage and negotiates international agreements, chiefly in the field of trade and cooperation.
- It is also responsible for managing the Community budget, under the supervision of the Court of Auditors.
The Delegations of the External Service, although hierarchically a part of the Commission structure, in practice serve European Union interests as a whole in 123 countries throughout the world, and at five centres of international organisations (OECD, OSCE, UN, WTO):
- presenting, explaining and implementing EU policy; providing background and updates on European integration and EU policies to host governments and administrations, media, academia, business circles and civil society.
- analysing and reporting on the policies and developments of the countries to which they are accredited ; and
- conducting negotiations in accordance with a given mandate.
Delegations also play an increasing role in the conduct of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), providing regular political analysis, conducting evaluations jointly with Member State Embassies and contributing to the policy making process.
Delegations provide support and assistance as necessary to the other institutions and actors of the EU, including :
- the High Representative for CFSP/Secretary General of the EU Council, who can rely on their logistical support when on mission and to whom all their policy reports are copied;
- the European Parliament, in that they help, for example, to arrange programmes for and accompany visiting delegations and Committees where necessary and - in agreement with Commission headquarters - Heads of Delegation may contact the Foreign Affairs Committee and other Committees of the Parliament, when they are back at headquarters, in order to report on recent developments in their host countries and the development of EU policy and programmes;
- the EU Presidency, with Heads of Delegation regularly taking part in Troika démarches, and assisting the Presidency in other ways.
The Delegation of the European Commission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, was established on 10 July 1996 following signature of the Dayton/Paris Peace Agreement. In addition to the tasks mentioned before, this Delegation plays a key role in the implementation of external assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina as it was the first ‘deconcentrated’ Delegation. Since 1998, it manages projects directly from start to finish on behalf of the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in close contact with the EuropeAid Co-Operation Office. Until 2001, in total more than € 2.2 billion has been set aside for assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In 2002, the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EC have agreed on the Country Strategy 2002 - 2006. € 195 million has been earmarked for the first three years 2002 – 2004. EC assistance will focus on the following five areas:
Funding is now mainly provided through the CARDS programme (successor to Phare and OBNOVA), which is supplemented with Macro-financial assistance and financial support from other Community budgetlines (e.g. European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights, LIFE – Third countries).
In concert with the EU Presidency, the Delegation takes the lead in on-the-spot co-ordination of the implementation of all EU assistance, multi-lateral and bi-lateral, to increase synergy and - not to be forgotten - EU visibility.
