Summary of the dispute

The mediation commenced at the initiative of the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which requested the Secretariat to engage in mediation in Case ECS-10/18.  In Case ECS-10/18, a public guarantee granted by the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in favour of the Export-Import Bank of China for a loan by the latter to the public utility Elektroprivreda BiH d.d. Sarajevo for the Tuzla 7 project was found by the State Aid Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina not to contain elements of State aid. However, the Secretariat preliminarily concluded that the State Aid Council’s decision does not comply with the State aid acquis and that the public guarantee does constitute State aid.

The mediation was carried out under Title III of Procedural Act 2016/3/ECS on the establishment of a Dispute Resolution and Negotiation Centre.

• 18 September 2019: a mediation session between the Parties and the Mediator took place in Vienna.
• 5 December 2019: The Secretariat and representatives of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina terminated their negotiations on 5 December 2019 without having reached an agreement. The negotiations became futile after the Federal Minister of Finance on 19 November 2019 signed a guarantee agreement without prior clarification of compliance with Energy Community State aid rules.