EP committee backs co-operation agreement between Eurojust and Bosnia and Herzegovina

MEPs gave their support to an agreement deepening criminal justice co-operation between Eurojust and the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

On Thursday, MEPs in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs endorsed an agreement between Eurojust, the EU agency responsible for criminal justice co-operation, and the competent authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The agreement sets out the terms for Eurojust co-operation with the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the possibility to securely and confidentially exchange classified information. It contains provisions on data protection and security, including proportionality, storage and retention conditions, the right of data subjects to access and rectify data concerning them, and restrictions on handling sensitive data.

To deepen operative collaboration, the agreement allows Bosnia and Herzegovina to send a liaison prosecutor to Eurojust, and for Eurojust to in turn post a liaison magistrate in the country. According to the agreement, Eurojust can also support the creation of Joint Investigation Teams between EU member states and the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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After the vote, rapporteur Jaroslav Bžoch (PfE, Czechia) said: “With this agreement, we want to enhance co-operation between Eurojust and the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to more efficiently combat serious crime, which is very often transnational and extends to countries outside of the EU. To protect our societies and citizens, we need to coordinate our response to threats, and this agreement will strengthen our authorities in the fight against serious crime and terrorism.”

Next steps

The draft recommendation was adopted with 65 votes in favour, 0 against, and 3 abstentions.

A plenary vote on the proposal is scheduled for the 31 March - 3 April plenary session of the Parliament.

Background

Eurojust supports the national authorities of EU and partner countries in their fight against serious crime, including terrorism, cybercrime, human trafficking, migrant-smuggling and money-laundering, by coordinating and supporting operations that involve cross-border collaboration. The details of Eurojust’s co-operation with the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be further detailed in a working arrangement.

In 2024, Eurojust assisted German and Slovenian authorities in arrests for the alleged trafficking of Bosnian labourers to Germany, and supported a Joint Investigation Team into a migrant-smuggling network on the Balkan route.