Legalization of a Third Entity: Čampara and Korman Signed a Memorandum for Cooperation with Europol Without Four HDZ-Controlled Cantons!

(Patria) - In June 2021, the Federal Ministry of Interior (Federal Police Administration) and representatives of cantonal ministries of interior signed a Memorandum for cooperation within the contact point with Europol, Istraga.ba reports.

– In accordance with Article 6, paragraph (3) of the Instruction on procedures for the implementation of the Agreement on Operational and Strategic Cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Europol, number: 01-50-203/21-3 of January 6, 2021 ("Official Gazette of BiH", number: 8/21 – hereinafter: the Instruction), six (6) cantonal ministries of interior (cantonal police administrations) listed below authorize the Federal Ministry of Interior (Federal Police Administration) to represent and establish communication within the Contact Point – states the concluded Memorandum.

The Memorandum was signed on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Interior by Ensad Korman with representatives of the police administrations of the Ministry of Interior of Una-Sana Canton, Ministry of Interior of Tuzla Canton, Ministry of Interior of Zenica-Doboj Canton, Ministry of Interior of Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde, Ministry of Interior of Central Bosnia Canton, and the Ministry of Interior of Sarajevo Canton.

Thus, the Memorandum signed in 2021 represents the Federal Ministry of Interior, i.e., the Federal Police Administration, with only six cantons. Omitted are Herzegovina-Neretva, West Herzegovina, Posavina, and Canton 10 – all cantons that are part of the territory under the dominant influence of the HDZ. In this way, through an official document, a model was established in which the Federal Police Administration, in communication with Europol, represents only part of the Federation of BiH, while four cantons remain outside the jurisdiction of the Federal Ministry of Interior, i.e., the Federal Police Administration.

The fact that the cantons dominated by political parties with a Croatian prefix were omitted from the agreement is not some accidental "oversight." This construction, which was accepted by the then leaders of the federal police, Aljoša Čampara and Ensad Korman, carries a scandalous political message – it practically accepts that four cantons function outside the constitutional-legal framework established for the rest of the Federation!

Therefore, the question must be raised whether the then leaders of the Federal Ministry of Interior, instead of strengthening the unified security system of the Federation of BiH through cooperation with Europol, contributed to further institutional fragmentation of the Federation through their decisions. If the goal was to establish a unique mechanism for cooperation with Europol, it is logical to ask why the said document did not include all cantons in the Federation? If there was no formal legal obstacle for this – and there was not – then the responsibility for such a solution inevitably falls on the political and police leadership of the Federation of BiH from that period.

Aljoša Čampara, as the former minister, and Ensad Korman, as one of the then key figures of the Federal Police Administration, are obliged to explain to the public why and with what purpose a document was created that practically legitimized the political divisions that advocates of a third entity in BiH have been trying to turn into a formal-legal framework for years.

In March 2023, the Rulebook on the work and operational cooperation of the National/Joint Contact Point for Bosnia and Herzegovina for cooperation with Europol was adopted, which set the system on a much broader basis than was the case in the Memorandum created by Čampara and Korman. Unlike the Memorandum, which covered only six cantonal police administrations, the Rulebook starts from the concept of including all competent police and security institutions in BiH through a joint contact point for cooperation with Europol. It precisely regulates the relations, rights, and obligations of representatives of competent authorities, contact persons, and police agencies involved in the system of international police cooperation.

The subsequent adoption of the Rulebook shows that there was a possibility of establishing a unique model of cooperation for all competent police and security institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including all cantons in the FBiH, the RS Ministry of Interior, and the Brčko District. This further raises the question of why a model was previously established that excluded four cantons with a Croatian majority in the Federation from the joint arrangement.