Upon the request of the EU Council, the European Commission released the Opinion on BiH` application for EU membership on 29 May, 2019. It included 14 key recommendations and reform priorities for the next steps of BiH's EU integration path.

To support release of the Opinion, in 3 months, we developed and delivered a strong public communication campaign and implemented activities in 4 phases, under the guidance of the EU Special Representative Office in BiH.

The first campaign on the EC Opinion on BiH was launched immediately upon its release. It was very important to provide accurate information on the Opinion and prevent possible manipulations and misinterpretation by political leaders and other public figures.

Taking into consideration media coverage of the Opinion’s release, as well as the statements of the main political representatives, it is safe to say that the media campaign and communication activities conducted during the campaign prevented potential manipulation as no attempts were made by local political and other actors to misinterpret the content of the Opinion or to shift the responsibility for missed opportunities to someone else. Therefore, we assume that, as a result of the campaign, Opinion’s recommendations were properly understood and that it was clear to both, citizens and decision makers that the responsibility for implementing reforms is entirely in the hands of the local actors. And the results of the campaign are quite impressive given a 3 months implementation period.

Overall result - more than 3 million people in BiH reached by EUSR Campaign on the EC Opinion on BiH’s application for EU membership. Organization of public awareness events “Your Opinion on the Opinion”, (Stage I and II) with the most prominent journalists, editors, political analysts, directors of the companies, CSOs, local governments, citizens who participated in events designed to discuss the Opinion with the HoD, DHoD and representatives of the EU Office in BIH. Preparation and production of all types of media formats and promotional materials and implementation of a large-scale public awareness campaign.