EUPM TO CO-HOST SEMINAR ON BOSNIAN POLICE REFORM

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (June 5,2008) - The EU Police Mission in Bosnia (EUPM), the Slovenian Presidency of the European Union and Centre for European perspective will host a seminar on the Security Sector Reform and the Stabilisation and Association Agreement process on 5 and 6 June in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo.

The European Union has been an important actor in police reform since 2003. Police reform has been a key conditionality for the Stabilisation and Association process. Year 2008 will mark a turning point of the police reform process in Bosnia and the start of new engagements in the region. The end of the first semester of the year therefore offers an opportunity to review the engagement of the last years in preparation of the next phase of the Stabilisation and Association process.

The outcome of the seminar and lessons identified shall contribute to the formulation of reform strategies, promoted by the governments of the countries of the region, European Security and Defence Policy operations and Community instruments, as well as EU Member States. The seminar outcome will enhance knowledge regarding the constraints and opportunities that the EU faces in these complex areas of reform.

Seminar participants will discuss about the various reform agendas for police and international police cooperation, criminal justice and the judiciary, border and migration issues, as well as the role of national parliaments and civil society.

The two-day seminar will bring together representatives of the European Commission, EU Member States involved in the policy formulation in Brussels, and the Bosnian Parliamentarians.
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