Failing to establish the national contact point for cooperation with EUROPOL leaves serious consequences for Bosnia and Herzegovina and its citizens the European Union's (EU) Delegation in Sarajevo said on Wednesday.

By postponing for weeks the discussion on this matter, Bosnia's Council of Ministers missed an important opportunity to set up the national contact point, the EU delegation said adding that “undermining the cooperation with EUROPOL will have an impact on the security of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its citizens.”

At a meeting of EUROPOL delegation and Bosnia's authorities held in April this year in Sarajevo, the two parties reached an agreement on establishing the national contact point with European police. Bosnian law enforcement agencies would benefit from this the most, as the contact point would enable them to access the EUROPOL database.

However, to date, Bosnian authorities failed to obey the agreement with EUROPOL and the EU delegation in Sarajevo has warned about possible consequences.

“This persistent breach of the agreement with EUROPOL could lead to the temporary suspension of the application of the Agreement – something that never happened with any other country,” said the Delegation.

“Politically, this affects deeply the credibility of Bosnia and Herzegovina's commitment to fight serious and organised crime and strengthen the rule of law, in particular with a view to the Commission's opinion on Bosnia and Herzegovina,” the EU's office warned.