It is official: in the 2026 Budget of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, young people have been almost completely removed from budgetary priorities, and the only federal budget line intended exclusively for youth and youth organizations – the Transfer for Youth – has been abolished. With this decision by the authorities, young people in the Federation of BiH are not only losing a financial mechanism, but also institutional recognition that they constitute a social group deserving of specific and transparent public support.
The removal of the Transfer for Youth from the 2026 Budget cannot be viewed as a technical amendment or budgetary adjustment, as it is a political decision with clear consequences. Since 2012, this Transfer represented the only systemic framework through which young people were directly recognized in the federal budget. Over more than a decade of its existence, a total of BAM 5.2 million was allocated through the Transfer for Youth, and in the period from 2018 to 2023 alone, 357 youth organizations and organizations working with young people were supported. This clearly demonstrates that it was not merely a formal budget item, but a mechanism with real and measurable impact.
Despite this, the 2026 budget plan no longer includes this item, and the public has not been offered any clear or accountable explanation for this decision. If the authorities claim that funds for young people have not been abolished but reallocated within other budget lines, they are obliged to publicly and precisely show where these funds are positioned in the budget, in what amounts they are planned, and in what way young people will be able to access them. Without a clearly named budget line, without concrete figures and transparent procedures, support for young people remains declarative rather than real.
This decision carries particular weight because it is being made in an election year, when the budget becomes the clearest indicator of actual political priorities, free from public rhetoric and promises. By abolishing the Transfer for Youth, the institutions of government clearly demonstrate that young people are not part of their concrete budgetary plans. Such a message carries political weight that young people clearly understand and remember, because political trust does not stem from statements, but from decisions that are visible precisely in the budget.
The Youth Council of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina hereby demands that the Transfer for Youth be urgently reinstated in the Budget of the Federation of BiH as a clearly named and dedicated budget line for young people, and that the public be provided with precise and clear information on the planned funds for young people in the Draft Budget of the Federation of BiH for 2026, including their amount, purpose, and expected effects. Anything less clearly indicates that young people have no political weight in the measures of government institutions.
Young people are not an abstract social group, but citizens and voters who very clearly recognize who considers them a priority and who erases them from the budget. It is time to clearly demonstrate whether young people will be returned to budgetary priorities or whether this decision will remain a lasting indicator of the authorities’ attitude toward them.
This statement was prepared within the framework of the campaign “Transparent Budgeting for Youth in FBiH”, implemented by the Youth Council of the Federation of BiH. The campaign is part of the PRAGG project, funded by the Government of Switzerland and implemented by a consortium consisting of HELVETAS and NIRAS, in partnership with local partners the Centers for Civic Initiatives (CCI) and the Institute for Youth Development KULT. This statement does not necessarily reflect the views of the PRAGG project or the donor – the Government of Switzerland.
