Border Security & Manag't

Report on the Ohrid Border Process by Amb. Premoze, Chairman of the WT3 / Ohrid Border Process

The Ohrid Process for Border Management and Security is a joint effort by the countries of the region, the EU, the OSCE, NATO and the Stability Pact to address the very sensitive issues of borders security and management. Considering the sensitivity of this issue in a region that saw violent conflicts only a few years ago, coming together to discuss and work on the matter itself can already be seen as progress.

The achievements in the field of border security and management have now become key points of the JHA ministerial dialogue between the EU and the countries of the Western Balkans. The establishment of border management systems in line with the EU acquis and model of EU for external borders is one of the prerequisites for their eventual integration into the EU.

The implementation phase in which the whole process entered last year at the First Review Meeting, has led to an important number of progress in the area, highlighted during the Second Review meeting which took place in Tirana, on 26-27 October.

This year, six meetings took place, at various levels. In March and April, respectively Senior and Expert level meetings took place, where the participants agreed on the priorities, goals and timeline for the whole process. The four partners met in May in order to prepare the intermediate Meeting of the Heads of Border Guards/ Services, National Contact Points and the four partners in Zagreb, in June. The purpose of the latter meeting was to feedback on the semi-annual reports on the implementation of the Way Forward Document, delivered by the five countries to the four partners. The international organisations took the opportunity to reiterate their will to support the countries in this process, and to discuss with the countries the areas in which international assistance is most needed. Practical implementation of legislative and concrete measures proved to be sometimes uneasy. But this did not prevent the assessment of limited progress and stressed the need for some rescheduling/ redefinition of the implementation scheme in order to address unexpected difficulties, while sticking to the initial commitments.

In September, the countries and the four partners met in Brussels to prepare the Second Review Meeting, which took place in Tirana as mentioned here above.

One year after the First Review Meeting, the Second Review Meeting was the occasion for the participants of the process to take stock of and discuss the progress achieved so far and to bring ideas together on how the future of the whole process should be. Indeed, the process is not a “one-side exercise”. Therefore, the partner organisations are ready to share with the participants how they would like to assist the countries concerned in fulfilling their task.

The key purpose of the Second Review meeting was to discuss the presentations delivered by the five countries on the Annual Reports on the implementation of the Way Forward Document. The implementation of the Way Forward Document, as well as the Common Platform of the Ohrid Regional Conference on Border Security and Management, continues to represent the basis for the activities in the framework of the whole process and is under constant review.

One of the most ‘visible’ results achieved after one year and a half, is the fact that the borders in SEE are now - with some exceptions - entirely under civilian control.

At the same time, the progress regarding the adoption and - most important - the implementation of the legal framework, did not develop at the same pace throughout the region. Moreover, cross-border cooperation in the area of border management is taking shape unevenly and at different intensity. Some countries are also lagging behind as regards capacity building in the area of illegal migration.

When introducing the Annual Reports, the representatives of the five countries informed about the progress achieved in various areas of implementation of their ‘Ohrid commitments’. These areas mainly cover:

• Creation of a legal framework in line with the EU acquis, i.e. implementing instruments/mechanisms - national strategies on integrated border management, on action plans and on development of relevant inter-service “implementation” bodies/ structures.
• Training of the personnel especially those who will take over the control of the borders from the military
• Overview of the needs of the border police in equipment and personnel
• Information systems
• Signing of Agreements/ Protocols about cooperation with neighbouring countries on prevention of border crossing criminals as well as within each country with other police and customs services

Although overall assessment of these reports is rather positive, the ‘level of accuracy ‘ is not the same in all reports. Legal issues have been addressed, appropriate structures established and main border crossing points equipped at airports or along main pan European corridors. However, more attention should be given to training and IT systems, especially in the wider scope of inter-service cooperation. In order to provide the beneficiary countries with more advice/assistance in the field of ‘inter-service relationship’, more information from their side would be needed.

In order to successfully implement the Ohrid Border Process ‘commitments’ and to keep its dynamics and effectiveness, the partner organisations have to be ready to continue sharing with the countries concerned how they would like to assist them in fulfilling their task, including eventual financial contribution to the implementation of the programmes.

As far as the role of the Stability Pact is concerned, the Ohrid Border Process together with asylum, migration, refugee return and visa issues should be considered an integral part of the Stability Pact core objective on Managing and Stabilizing Population Movements. Relevant discussion on this issue will take place at the SP Regional Table/ Working Table III meetings in Skopje, on 17 – 19 November 2004. Following the establishment of the MARRI Regional Forum and the consequent signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in Tirana on 2nd of July, the establishment of the MARRI Regional Centre in Skopje is now well underway and will be officially opened on 18th November.

As underlined by many participants, continued international assistance (including a financial one) is needed, particularly in these areas. Assistance provided so far through the CARDS or PHARE programs/projects, including twinning projects, was highlighted as an excellent example in this respect. Other forms of international assistance, e.g. from USAID, were mentioned as well.

The four partner organisations remain very active in the region, as highlighted by the update on their respective activities during the Second Review Meeting. UNMIK/Kosovo is also very active and regularly reports on its ongoing cooperation with its neighbours, in the field of border management and security as well as cooperation in combating organized crime and illegal migration.

Training activities and regional cooperation are also issues that were addressed during the Review Meeting, as part of the implementation of the action-oriented measures taken by the countries in the Ohrid framework. Moreover, the SP is now in the process of gathering relevant information for its project of “Linking Border Police to Interpol’s National Central Bureaus”.

The Second Review Meeting was also the occasion to discuss about the future of the whole process. For 2005, the focus has to be put on the implementation of the existing ‘Ohrid commitments’ especially as regards the full establishment of strategic and managerial capacity to implement the integrated border management. The representatives of the countries concerned also informed the participants about their specific priorities for the coming year, in particular regarding the continuation of the process of taking-over border policing functions from the military, equipment/IT, border surveillance, human resources, regional/bilateral cooperation, training and integration with criminal police. For some countries, visa issues will be equally important.

Whether it be in the Ohrid process or in a different framework, more focus will be given to the four following points, as they are directly linked with the future accession of the SaP countries to the Schengen area:

• Human resources and training
• Information systems (incl. communication, processing and analysis)
• Complementarity and cooperation between border police services and criminal police
• Cross border operational cooperation among relevant services all over the region

The future of the Ohrid Border Process lies beyond 2005, when national capacities to implement border management systems would have been established and when it would be time to focus on establishing the operational capacities of these systems. A brainstorming meeting will take place around May 2005 to discuss these issues more in-depth.

It has appeared clear throughout this year and a half of activities, that the dynamics and effectiveness of the Ohrid Border Process must be sustained. This process enhances cooperation, coordination, transparency, accountability and consolidation. The “model of cooperation” of the four partner organisations has set a high standard that might be taken up on other issues. The Stability Pact plays in this process its natural role of facilitator, but also of contributor.

Therefore, drawing lessons from this process, all the participants agree that success in this area can only be achieved if the objectives and Action Plans are based on the real needs of the countries of the region. Therefore, the countries themselves have chosen action-oriented measures, which they are committed to implement within an agreed timeline. In this respect, sharing information also remains essential. This methodology that proved successful for building strategic and managerial capacities could now be extended to the establishment and strengthening of operational ones.

Finally, keeping in mind all the tasks remaining, the international organisations used every opportunity to reiterate their support to the whole process. They will need to join their forces, each of them in the area where it can have “added value”, hereby speaking with one single voice and financially contributing to the implementation of the programmes.