Team formed for negotiations on Agreement with FRONTEX

(Patria) - Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina Nenad Nešić held a meeting today with representatives of security agencies, where a BiH negotiating team was formed for negotiations on the Agreement on cooperation with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX).

The negotiating team will be headed by the Director of the Border Police of BiH Mirko Kuprešaković, and his deputies are the Assistant Minister for General and Border Security Ermin Pešto and the Minister's Advisor Ljuban Panić.

Minister Nešić reminded that operational cooperation with EUROPOL was established earlier, and that this is the second significant task this year aimed at approaching European standards and EU integration.

“In this way, we become a significant partner and part of the security system of the European Union,” Nešić emphasized.

Regarding future negotiations, Nešić explained that BiH received a standard agreement and that the challenge for the negotiating team is to include all specificities of BiH and constitutional competencies.

“Understanding from the EU will be needed that the agreement must be supplemented with elements that respect these specificities. Here, I primarily refer to the structure of deploying FRONTEX forces. To achieve an internal political compromise in BiH, it is important for us that, in addition to the Border Police, members of entity and cantonal Ministries of Interior are also included alongside FRONTEX members.

The second issue is the question of immunity. For us, it is acceptable that FRONTEX members have immunity while performing their duties. The third issue concerns our sovereignty, and we will insist that FRONTEX members cannot undertake any actions without expressing our need for them, meaning they must act in accordance with the expressed needs and tasks of our competent police bodies,” Nešić pointed out.

Finally, he emphasized the importance of the initiated integration processes, as they improve the security of all citizens in our country, while also contributing to collective European security.