Full cooperation between the EU’s Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (EUROPOL) and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s law enforcement agencies is now closer to being realised with the signature of the Rulebook on the operation of the National/Joint Contact Point for cooperation with EUROPOL. A signing ceremony to mark this step was organised today by the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and attended by BiH Minister of Security Nenad Nešić, the Head of EU Delegation to BiH and EU Special Representative to BiH, Ambassador Johann Sattler, and the Head of Unit for Strategy and External Relations at EUROPOL Patrícia Silveira, as well as entity and cantonal ministers of interior, directors of state-level law enforcement agencies and the Chief of Brčko District Police.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only country in the Western Balkans without an operational contact point for cooperation with EUROPOL. Putting into full operation the Contact Point will allow direct cooperation between EUROPOL and all police bodies in Bosnia and Herzegovina and it will enable the deployment of a BiH liaison officer to EUROPOL to The Hague, which will be a major step forward in the fight against organised crime and terrorism. It will also enable the sharing of information on criminals through the EUROPOL Secure Information Exchange Network Application (SIENA) system, including the SIENA database on counter-terrorism.

The EU continues to support the operationalisation of the Contact Point through the ongoing refurbishment of the premises that will host it, and the donation of IT equipment necessary for the operation of the Contact Point, which will be delivered under an IPA-funded project. The Ministry of Security has committed to transfer the SIENA servers allowing the operational work of the Joint Contact Point to begin in May 2023.