Parliament approves Eurojust cooperation agreement with Bosnia and Herzegovina

MEPs have endorsed an agreement deepening criminal justice cooperation between Eurojust and the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The European Parliament has given its consent to an agreement between Eurojust – the EU agency responsible for criminal justice cooperation – and the competent authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, by 619 votes in favour, 9 against, and with 45 abstentions.

Setting out the terms for Eurojust cooperation with the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the agreement includes the possibility for secure and confidential exchange of classified information. It also contains provisions on data protection and security, including proportionality, storage and retention conditions, the right of data subjects to access and rectify data concerning them, and restrictions on handling sensitive data.

To deepen operative collaboration, the agreement allows Bosnia and Herzegovina to send a liaison prosecutor to Eurojust, and Eurojust to post a liaison magistrate in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the agreement, Eurojust can also help with the creation of joint investigation teams between EU member states and the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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After the vote, rapporteur Jaroslav Bžoch (PfE, Czechia) said: “This agreement to enhance cooperation between Eurojust and the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina is about equipping our authorities to combat serious crime and terrorism, which is very often transnational in nature and extends to countries outside the EU. To protect our societies and citizens we need to coordinate our response to the threats we are facing.”

Next steps

Now that Parliament has consented to the agreement, the Council of the EU can decide to adopt it.

Background

Eurojust supports the national authorities of the EU and partner countries in their fight against serious crime, including terrorism, cybercrime, human trafficking, migrant smuggling and money laundering, by coordinating and supporting operations that involve cross-border collaboration. The details of Eurojust’s cooperation with the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be further detailed in a working arrangement.

In 2024, Eurojust helped German and Slovenian authorities make arrests in connection with the alleged trafficking of Bosnian labourers to Germany, and supported a joint investigation team into a migrant-smuggling network on the Balkan route.