A two-day workshop on stepping up the fight against corruption, organised by the BiH Federation Ministry of Internal Affairs in cooperation with the Technical Assistance Information Exchange Instrument of the EU (TAIEX) and the European Union Police Mission to BiH (EUPM), began on Wednesday in Sarajevo.
Natalia Dianiskova, Head of the Operations Section for Social Development, Civil Society and Cross-Border Cooperation at the EU Delegation to BiH, stressed that fighting corruption is not just a matter of fighting crime but that it encompasses good governance, and the integrity of public institutions and their ability to win and maintain the trust of citizens.
“Good governance is a prerequisite for an effective society and for functioning institutions,” said Dianiskova. “It is a standard that all EU member states are striving to achieve and therefore it is a standard to be achieved by all countries that want to join the European Union some day.”
She added that fighting corruption, and the capacity to design and implement anti-corruption policies, is an important political accession criterion, and she noted that the fight against corruption is particularly challenging in Bosnia and Herzegovina because of a highly politicised public sector and because of the multiple administrative layers with their respective legislation and competencies.
“The Workshop is intended for policemen, prosecutors and judges at the state, entity and canton level,” said Federation Internal Affairs Minister Predrag Kurteš. “It focuses on concrete examples of corruption and presents case studies from the experience of the Belgian Federal police.”
EUPM Deputy Head of Mission Domenico Paterna pointed out that corruption is a complex issue with roots in the bureaucracy and in political institutions. He said a primary responsibility of a country is to tackle corruption and this can be done through a combination of disciplinary and administrative measures, criminal prosecution, preventive measures and public awareness and education campaigns.
EUPM Anti-Corruption Expert Dirk D’hulst said the role of the EUPM in Bosnia and Herzegovina is to advise on and monitor anti-corruption actions implemented by local forces.
The EUPM together with the Federation Ministry of Internal Affairs and the TAIEX organised the workshop in order to expand knowledge about this issue among representatives of local institutions that are involved in fighting corruption, using practical examples with the assistance of experts from Belgium.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina has an anti-corruption strategy at the state level for the period 2009-2014, but we are constantly urging the lower administrative levels to inform us about their action plans and achievements in the fight against corruption,” said D’hulst.
A total of 43 inspectors, prosecutors and directors of Police Academies attended the two-day event.
