Deputy Director General of the Directorate General for Justice, Freedom and Security of the European Commission, Mr. Jean Louis De Brouwer, met today with the Chairman of the Council of Ministers Nikola Spiric, Deputy Minister and Acting Minister of Security Mijo Kresic, Assistant Minister at the Ministry of Security and Head of the team for visa liberalisation Samir Rizvo, Director of the BiH Agency for Identification Documents, Registers and Data Exchange (IDDEEA) Sinisa Macan and the Collegium of both houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Deputy Director General De Brouwer provided preliminary reactions to the progress made by Bosnia and Herzegovina since the last assessment of the European Commission in May 2009. He welcomed in particular the recent adoption of a number of important strategies and action plans required by the visa roadmap. Determined implementation needs to follow. The starting of issuance of biometric passports three weeks ago was also noted as a very positive step. Their issuance has to be pursued, and the civil registration and issuance of passports need to be fully protected against fraud and corruption.

Other important outstanding requirements, to be tackled as soon as possible, are the adoption of the Law on the Agency for prevention of corruption and on cooperation in fight against corruption and the adoption of the Law on amendments to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Strengthening capacities in the area of border management would also be crucial.

The implementation of the police reform is also crucial.  The implementation of the 2008 police reform laws has been slow. The recent adoption of the Rulebook for Procedures for the Independent Board has been a positive step. Now it is crucial to quickly proceed with the appointment of the director and the Deputy Directors of the Police Directorate for Coordination. Mr. De Brouwer also welcomed the adoption of the Agreement on information exchange from police records. Tangible results need to be achieved regarding its implementation.

Mr. De Brouwer called on the BiH authorities to proceed with the implementation of the outstanding issues without further delay, to ensure that necessary progress is reported to the European Commission by mid-November. He underlined that the timing of a possible Commission proposal on visa liberalisation for the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina will depend on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s speed of meeting the remaining requirements of the roadmap. Good progress requires strong political will and readiness to compromise. As soon as the Commission considers that Bosnia and Herzegovina has fulfilled the outstanding benchmarks, it will promptly take action and present a proposal for visa liberalisation for the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.