The Council of Europe, together with twenty two municipalities¹, signed on 9 July in Banja Luka, eleven grant agreements to support inter-municipal cooperation projects of the municipalities divided by the entity lines in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These grants are part of the Confidence Building Measures Programme (CBM), which aims to support the process of reconciliation between neighboring municipalities, located on both sides of the entity line.

The Confidence Building Measures Programme represents one of many activities of the Council of Europe's cooperation with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Grants amount to six thousand euros each and are trying to respond to the common needs identified by the partner municipalities located on both sides of the entity line, and will be jointly implemented by the end of November 2019.

The contracts were signed by twenty two municipalities participating in the project, on behalf of the Council of Europe, by the Ambassador Drahoslav Stefanek, Head of Office of the Council of Europe in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Minister of Administration and Local Self-Government of Republika Srpska, Ms Lejla Rešić hosted the ceremony.

¹ Bosanski Petrovac, Petrovac Drinić, Drvar, Istocni Drvar, Gorazde, Novo Gorazde, Trnovo, RS Trnovo, Berkovići, Stolac, Gradačac, Pelagićevo, Lopare, Čelić, Novo sarajevo, Istočno Novo Sarajevo, Trebinje, Ravno, Ribnik, Ključ, Jezero, Jajce.