It was a hot summer day in Bosnia – 23 June 2016 – when an Italian IT company, Memetech, won a €600,000 EU-funded tender. The contract: develop a software platform, design two data centers (in Sarajevo and Banja Luka), and train personnel for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s State Aid Management System. Commissioned by the Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina, it was a promising project for a small company with regional expertise. But the celebration was short-lived.
The project turned out to be difficult. Memetech quickly ran into a host of unanticipated problems: poor infrastructure, slow communication with local stakeholders, and the infamous EU bureaucracy. At one point, the company was asked to legalize an invoice, attached to the certificate of origin, as the EU had doubts of its authenticity.
Between March and May 2017, Memetech delivered and installed all the required systems. The EU Delegation issued provisional acceptance certificates. By July 2017, personnel in both cities had completed training. The project, it seemed, was on track.
Then things began to unravel.
The company noticed some technical issues – connectivity failures, system misconfigurations. Memetech took initiative, deploying additional tech support and investing nearly €13,000 of its own funds to resolve problems before the deadline. The company claims the technical complications stemmed from missing or unclear specifications, which were never disclosed by the Bosnian authorities or EU representatives. Still, Memetech completed the project on 8 December 2017.
But the EU Delegation didn’t see it that way. In February 2018, it threatened Memetech with penalties, arguing the project wasn’t completed under the contractual terms.
Over the following months, pursuing long back and forth of not accepting the delivered services, the EU Commission withheld €100,307.60 from the invoice payments to the service provider. Another €12,971.60 cost the company to fix the tech issues that were never mentioned in the contracts.
The story dragged through the COVID pandemic on to 2022, as the Delegation of the EU would continuously fail to pay on the remaining invoices despite repeated reminders.
It is summer 2025, the hot summer days are now under heatwaves, yet the dispute remains unresolved. Memetech’s claims remain unpaid, and the EU Commission has yet to formally close the file. Ironically, the head of the EU Commission now faces scrutiny from the European Parliament for irregularities in COVID vaccine procurement.
Doing business in Europe is already challenging: excessive red tape, fragmented legislation, and high operational costs discourage many small enterprises. And while the European Commission promotes support programs for businesses operating in the EU and its external actions, it appears ill-equipped to act as a competent business counterpart. Public institutions managing large-scale funds will never understand the nature of adaptability, problem-solving mindset and win-win approach – fundamental concepts in business-to-business environment.
Every company that bids on public contracts takes a risk, betting on a fair process and the promise of return on investment. For Memetech, that risk turned into a five-year ordeal and a hundred-thousand-euro loss. And if this is the price of doing business with the European Union – who’s going to dare next?