The 8^th Subcommittee meeting on Justice, Freedom and Security under the European Union (EU) – Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Stabilisation and Association Agreement took place on 10 and 11 December 2024 in Brussels in hybrid format. The meeting was co-chaired for the EU by Ms. Barbara Jésus-Gimeno, Head of Unit at the Directorate General for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission (Commission), and, for BiH, by Mr. Mlađen Božović, Chief of the Cabinet of the Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Commission stressed its continued support for the EU integration of BiH and its expectation for tangible progress in the area of Justice, Freedom and Security, as most of the “relevant steps” that BiH needs to take with a view to the Council adopting a Negotiating Framework fall within the remit of this sub-committee. The Commission underlined that the “fundamentals” of EU accession are expected to be part of the BiH draft Reform Agenda and urged BiH to adopt it swiftly so that the citizens of BiH may benefit from EUR 1 billion attached to the fulfilment of reforms. The Commission recalled the 2024 enlargement package report on Bosnia and Herzegovina as first point of reference for discussion.

The Commission reminded the authorities of their responsibility to live up to the expectations of the citizens who want and deserve an independent, merit-based and efficient justice system. In this regard, the Commission welcomed the ongoing implementation of the integrity-related amendments to the Law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) and called upon the authorities to sustain efforts so that the integrity checks may begin soon under close external monitoring. The Commission encouraged Bosnia and Herzegovina to also advance on finalising and adopting the comprehensive new law on the HJPC and the new Law on the Courts of BiH in line with European standards also as part of the “relevant steps”. The Commission further urged the BiH authorities to swiftly adopt a strategic framework for judiciary reform with efficient monitoring for its implementation and encouraged the authorities to finalise the introduction of ICTY sentences into domestic criminal records following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding last year.

With regard to fundamental rights, the Commission underlined the importance for Bosnia and Herzegovina to ensure effectively that all citizens can fully enjoy their rights without discrimination. It stressed the importance of upholding the rights of the child, freedom of assembly and access to information. It also underlined the need to ensure gender equality and to take effective measures to prevent and combat gender-based violence, notably by aligning the legal framework with the EU acquis and international obligations of the country at all levels of government. The Commission further elaborated on the importance of cooperation with civil society in the European integration process.

The Commission underlined that guaranteeing freedom of expression and protecting journalists is yet another part of the “relevant steps” and regretted the lack of progress in the last year. It recalled the need to decriminalise defamation across the whole country. It encouraged the authorities to assume ownership of a mechanism for institutional and systematic follow-up to threats and violence against journalists and media workers. The Commission urged the authorities to take swift action and ensure the financial sustainability of the public broadcaster, which had been facing a serious risk of shutting down for a number of years.

The Commission recalled its expectation that Bosnia and Herzegovina put in place a solid legal and institutional framework to effectively address corruption and organised crime across all levels of government. This entails effective coordination of anti-corruption bodies and cooperation between law enforcement agencies and with prosecutor’s offices fighting organised crime. This also requires significantly improving the track record of investigations, indictments, prosecutions and final convictions in organised crime and corruption cases. The Commission welcomed the adoption of legislation on anti-money laundering, and underlined the key importance of its implementation, especially in view of the ongoing Moneyval evaluation. While progress was achieved in enforcement operations supported by Europol, and improved coordination capacity in the Prosecutor’s Office, systemic shortcomings remain in the operational cooperation and capacity of law enforcement agencies to investigate due to non-harmonised criminal legislation, weak institutional coordination and lack of resources. Financial investigations, asset seizure and confiscation should be improved. The Commission welcomed the signing of the agreement on operational cooperation with Eurojust, and recalled that data protection legislation needs to be adopted in line with the EU acquis for its entry into force. Concerning counterterrorism, Bosnia and Herzegovina is invited to implement the new joint action plan during 2025.

Concerning migration management, the Commission welcomed the conclusion of negotiations for a Status Agreement with Frontex and looked forward to its adoption and implementation. It also reminded the urgent need to adopt a law on border management, which is part of the “relevant steps” the country needs to take. The Commission encouraged Bosnia and Herzegovina to take decisive steps for establishing a sustainable migration management system, including asylum management, taking robust and joint action in the fight against smuggling. It welcomed the efforts of the authorities in implementing voluntary and non-voluntary returns of persons not in need of international protection, in line with EU and international standards.