Harmonizing national legislation, regulations, and procedures with the Acquis Communautaire represents the most complex and the time consuming part of the overall European integration process. The experiences of the EU Member States show that the Home Affairs and Justice Section, namely Chapters 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) and Chapter 24 (Justice, Freedom, and Security) are in particular challenging to conclude.

Which steps to take to assist law enforcement and judicial institution representatives be better prepared for the future screening process of the Home Affairs and Justice Acquis Communautaire at the technical level was discussed at the consultative meeting organised by the EU Delegation to BiH and EU-funded project Support to Law Enforcement yesterday in Sarajevo.

Brigitte Kuchar, Programme Manager, EU Delegation to BiH, noted that the aim of the screening process is to determine the differences that exist between the national legislation and the Acquis Communautaire. It transforms into an opportunity to organize institutions and procedures better and to train personnel in daily processes and responsibilities of drafting laws in line with the EU model, as well as implementing them.

“This challenging task requires sufficient level of knowledge about the processes, but also sustainability and continuity of personnel involved. Through the Project activities we have identified a huge potential at the technical level which, if properly trained, could develop into a core team and steer the process forward,” said Kuchar.

Gyula Radi, Long Term Expert, emphasised that the Project takes credit for a significant progress achieved vis-à-vis the harmonisation of certain pieces of legislation in the Home Affairs and Justice Sector. Namely, legislation in the field of prevention of money laundering, fight against organised crime and corruption, asset seizure, road map for data protection incorporates the main elements of the Acquis. Progress achieved needs to be maintained and advanced.

“A follow-up to this meeting will be a practical training on the essentials of the screening process and a study visit to the EU institutions in Brussels in July 2014. The benefits will be twofold – we believe it will take us closer to shaping the profile at the technical level and help design future activities to prepare BIH counterparts better,” concluded Radi.

The project “EU Support to Law Enforcement“ which is funded by the EU in the amount of 7 million EUR, from the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA 2010), will continue until 30 August 2014. The project consortium partners include the Ministries of Interior of the Republic of Austria, Republic of Slovenia, Hungary, and of the Land Brandenburg of the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), and Transparency International BiH (as an Associate). Beneficiary partners are BiH law enforcement agencies at state, entity, cantonal and Brčko District BiH level.