Sarajevo, 7 June 2012 (ONASA) - The two-day seminar on "Impact of the European Union Police Mission (EUPM) in BiH from 2002 to 2012," began today in Sarajevo, on the occasion of the completion of its mandate.

The seminar was organized by the EUPM, in cooperation with the Institute for the EU Security Studies in Paris, with the aim of analyzing the impact of ten years of civilian crisis management in BiH as well as the results of the EUPM in BiH.

Addressing the audience, Head of EUPM Commissioner Stefan Feller said that this seminar will serve as a forum for reflection on the role of the EUPM in BiH, but also in the EU and the development of the Common Security and Defence Policy.

Feller said that the completion of the mandate of the EUPM in BiH, scheduled for 30 June, represents a milestone in many respects, adding that the progress in achieving the European standards remains limited due to lack of will to create conditions for strengthening collective action in the country.

Director of the Institute for Security Studies of the European Union Alvaro de Vasconcelos said that the end of the mandate of the EUPM is a very good news because it means that the Mission has fulfilled its task, that it has contributed to peace and the rule of law and to the security, making BiH closer to the EU.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Zlatko Lagumdzija said, that, upon completion of the mandate of the EUPM in BiH, EU presence in this sector will continue through other institutions.

According to him, much progress has been achieved in recent years, and BiH is gradually changing and the driving force and main motto of change is the integration into the EU.

Lagumdzija reiterated that BiH, together with the EUPM, implemented reforms in the police sector, and reforms in all segments of the society.

Stressing the remaining issues to be resolved, Lagumdzija said that BiH must show that it is able to fulfill the tasks on the path towards integration into the EU and NATO, and that it can provide the political will to achieve these key objectives.

He said that the independence of the police structures should be ensured by the government institutions and wider community, but at the same time, it is necessary to establish a system of accountability of all structures, because as it is dangerous for politics to control the police, it is also dangerous when the police thinks it should controll the politics.

The seminar brought together representatives of the BiH institutions that have worked with the EUPM, the Department for EU external action, the European Commission, the European Parliament members, and representatives of the EU member states involved in the formulation of policies in Brussels.