The National/Joint Contact Point of Bosnia and Herzegovina for cooperation with the European Union’s Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) is not operating, said a letter that was forwarded through the Contact Point to Europol, the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the ministers in the Council of Ministers of BiH, the Office of the High Representative, the Delegation of the European Union in BiH and other relevant institutions. The letter was forwarded by the police minister of the Federation entity (FBiH) Ramo Isak and was based on a report prepared by one of the coordinators at the National/Joint Contact Point of Bosnia and Herzegovina for cooperation with Europol. N1 has learned that the letter did not reach Europol, because it was blocked at the National Joint/Contact Point. Pročitaj više

The report that N1 had access to, points out the serious problem in the work and functioning of the National/Joint Contact Point, warning about the insecurity of data and the SIENA communication system and demanding the suspension of activities on enabling a secure Europol SIENA communication system at lower levels of authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

When the National/Join Contact Point was established, Bosnia's Republika Srpska entity requested, which was approved, that the Contact Point's headquarters is located at the Ministry of Security of BiH and not at the Directorate for the Coordination of Police Bodies, although according to EU guidelines, all channels for international exchange of information must be located in one place.

The report also emphasised the fact that the Contact Point was moved from the Directorate for the Coordination of Police Bodies was for political and not professional reasons, and that this is one of the main problems.

“The regulations that currently manage the work of the Contact Point and cooperation with Europol are vague and contradictory and are interpreted and applied differently, while at the same time there is the Directorate (for the Coordination of Police Bodies) and the law that regulates the coordination of police bodies and international cooperation. The Contact Point was established and the work was taken over without regulating the status and adequate way of operation, which created a chaotic situation and problems in the organisation and execution of jobs,” according to the report.

Particularly controversial are the allegations that in these conditions the security of Europol's protected communication network SIENA and the security of the data exchanged via that network are questionable. At the same time, according to the report, activities are underway to bring this communication network down to lower levels, that is, the ministries of internal affairs of Bosnia's two entities and other bodies.

The report also mentions the problems and the separation of officials based on ethnicity, as well as the problem of the lack of mutual trust. Also, it points out the attempts to shut down the state agency – the Directorate for the Coordination of Police Bodies. Among other problems, the report also highlights the absence of a budget, permanent employees, and adequate premises where data would be protected. There are also problems among coordinators and deputy coordinators, while the provisions on work and responsibilities are interpreted differently.

However, the main problem that stands out is that the protected SIENA communication channel and the data exchanged, based on requests of entity ministries, could be enabled at lower levels, which could lead to certain agencies and competent services bypassing communication through the National/Joint Contact Point and that as such it will lose its meaning and the reason for which it was established. In addition, this could lead to “leakage” of the dana that must be protected.

It was confirmed for N1 that all this information was sent to the competent authorities back in February, but no response came from any institution. The letter was also sent to Europol, precisely through the Contact Point, which is responsible for communication, but according to the FBiH Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the information was blocked and did not reach the EU institution.