EU4Justice Project Gets € 2.2 Million to Combat Corruption
Within the scope of the continuous EU support to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s the Rule of Law sector, the European Union officially launched on May 16 the new project ‘EU4Justice: Support to the Fight against Organized Crime and Corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)’ in the amount of EUR 2.2 million.
The project is implemented in partnership with the GIP Justice International Cooperation (JCI) from France and aims at enhancing efficiency of investigation and prosecution of serious corruption and organized crime cases through intensified cooperation along the criminal justice chain. This is a two-year project, which starts in 2019, and will last until January 2021.
“Corruption and organized crime in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a big problem that needs to be tackled, and you do not really need the European Union to tell you so. This is a top priority for the European Union, not only in BiH but in the whole region,” underlined Mr. Khaldoun Sinno, Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union to BiH.
Judiciary institutions throughout BiH will be involved in the implementation, including the High Judicial Prosecutorial Council, Prosecutors’ Offices, Courts, Ministries of Justice, and Law Enforcement Agencies.
The project aims to enhance the effectiveness, integrity, and professionalism of the institutions in the Rule of Law sector in BiH. It will help improve the cooperation between prosecution and law enforcement agencies to increase the efficiency of investigations in organized crime and corruption cases. It will also strengthen capacities regarding human resources and performance management as well as disciplinary frameworks and procedures.
The project will improve current practice and results in forfeiting criminal assets. In addition, it will implement tracking mechanism for improving mutual access to criminal case files by law enforcement agencies, prosecutors’ offices, and courts.
The GIP- JCI, an organization which is in charge of this project, is the implementing body of the French Ministry of Justice. It enlists the expertise of the French legal community: judges, prosecutors, Law Enforcement Agencies, and the National Training School (ENM).
The Project Team will also resort to the French FIU (TRACFIN) the Agency for Seizure and Confiscation (AGRASC); and the National Financial Prosecution Service that deals with the most serious criminal investigations related to economic and financial offenses.
