The Klobuk border crossing between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro was officially opened on March 10th 2010. Covering a total of 22.500 m2, the new, European-standard facility’s construction was financed by a 2.6 million Euro grant from the European Union. The crossing has seven lanes, two for trucks, four for passenger vehicles and one for extra-large transport, and is designed to accommodate officers of the BiH Border Police , and the BiH Indirect Taxation Authority and Inspection Service.
The new border crossing was formally opened by the Head of the EU Delegation to BiH Ambassador Dimitris Kourkoulas, BiH Minister of Security Sadik Ahmetović, Director of the BiH Indirect Taxation Authority Kemal Causević, and BiH Border Police Director Vinko Dumančić.
“It is our aim to enhance the performance and the efficiency of customs procedures and border control, through the establishment of adequate and operational border crossing points,” Ambassador Kourkoulas said. “The intention is to create a functional, efficient and integrated border management system, with the common goal of creating open but controlled and secure borders. This enables the efficient oversight of the border and also the legal flow of goods across borders. Establishing functional and operational border crossings contributes to meeting the requirements for visa liberalisation in the Road Map, and also helps strengthen cross-border cooperation in the region.”
Stressing the good cooperation between the European Union and BiH institutions, Ambassador Kourkoulas pointed out that “for Bosnia and Herzegovina it is important to have decent and adequately equipped border crossings, for economic, security, and travel reasons.”
“Our determination is to continue building capacity that will contribute to the better management of the BiH border, because with secure borders, citizens throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina are secure too, and citizens in the region as a whole. A secure border also means a secure state”, said BiH Minister of Security Sadik Ahmetović.
BiH Border Police Director Vinko Dumančić stressed that at the border crossings, the police work with modern equipment – video surveillance cameras, cargo inspection equipment, night surveillance, and other equipment necessary for successful operations. “This makes it easier for us and for travellers,” he said. “It is easier for the police to work in better conditions, and it also shortens procedures for travellers.”
Director of the BiH Indirect Taxation Authority Kemal Čaušević noted that the EU (with the foreseen completion of Zupci border crossing in the forthcoming period) has provided assistance in establishing seven border crossings in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He stressed that these modern border crossings will contribute to a reduction in the volume of illegal traffic and shipments in and out of the country, and they will also increase the Indirect Taxation Authority’s revenue-collection capacity.
The Klobuk border crossing is situated some 20 kilometres on the road from Trebinje to Niksic, Montenegro. Its construction is part of wider EU assistance within the Integrated Border Management Programme for Bosnia and Herzegovina, worth a total of 34.5 million Euros.
