WORKGROUP IN CHARGE OF POLICE REFORM IMPLEMENTATION LAWS' DEVELOPMENT ESTABLISHED

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (December 14,2007) – Leaders of the six most influential political parties in Bosnia agreed at a meeting held in Laktasi that the Bosnian Council of Ministers should nominate a workgroup for development of laws on the basis of which several institutions at the Bosnian state level will be formed and deal with police reform.Those institutions/bodies are as follows: Police Coordination Direction, Institute of Forensic Investigation, Institute for Training and Expert Schooling of Police Personnel, Police Support Agency, Independent Board, Board for Citizens’ Complaints and Board for Police Officers’ Complaints.

The workgroup will be made up of representative at the Bosnian state level from both the entities and State Border Police Director.

The Office of the International Community's High Representative in Bosnia (OHR) representatives, the EU Police Mission to Bosnia (EUPM) representatives and the US Embassy representatives will attend the meetings of this workgroup.

The Bosnian Prime Minister will nominate the head of the group, which is due to hold the first session by December 20.

The group is obliged to submit drafts of Laws to the Bosnian council of Ministers by February 15 at the latest.The workgroup is obliged to inform in writing once in 15 days the Bosnian Prime Minister on the results of their work. Meetings will be held once a week at least.

They will decide on the issues through a consensus. Political leaders emphasized that this workgroup will implement the Mostar Declaration Action Plan for the purpose of implementing the obligations necessary for initialing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between Bosnia and the European Union (SAA) adopted by the Bosnian Government at the session held December 3.

The Bosnian Ministry of Security will offer all the logistic and technical assistance necessary for the workgroup’s activities and the Bosnian Prime Minister will inform the public on the results of its work.

The most influential political parties’ leaders in Bosnia also agreed that they will oblige their ministers and delegates to actively contribute the process of adoption of the 2008 budget by the end of this year.

They also agreed to solve the state property issues by late February 2008 in order to move ahead prior to the Pace Implementation Council (PIC) session.

The following meeting of the main political parties’ leaders in Bosnia will be held in the southern Bosnian town of Siroki Brijeg somewhere between January 20 and 26 2008.

As a reminder, at the meeting held in Laktasi, the following was agreed: Nikola Spiric is again Bosnia's Prime Minister, The members of the Bosnian Council of Ministers will remain the same, all the nominations should be confirmed by the Bosnian State Presidency and the Bosnian State Parliament as soon as possible.