Toespraak Oll Rehn bij start van nieuw ontwikkelingsproject voor politie in Macedonië (en)

SPEECH/08/159

Olli Rehn

EU Commissionner for Enlargement

Police Development Assistance Project

Launch of the "Police Development Assistance Project"

Skopje 7 March 2008

Minister, State Secretary, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to have this opportunity to participate in the launch of this important project.

In the context of the accession process the Commission attaches great importance to the issue of police reform. This is only natural because the rule of law is a crucial element of any European democracy. It is therefore also a central part of the Copenhagen political criteria for launching EU accession negotiations. As we have just started a very important year for the Western Balkans in general and your country more specifically, such a project appears very timely.

In our Opinion we highlighted the need to improve policing standards, and to make the police a more effective and accountable force, at the service of the citizens. We also called for the effective and timely implementation of the relevant provisions of the Ohrid Framework Agreement on equal representation, as this would help to enhance trust between inter-ethnic communities.

In recent years a number of important steps have been taken as regards policing. The Ministry of Interior and the police force have been restructured, operational capacity has been strengthened and there have been improvements in the general level of security throughout the country. There has also been progress in internal control and the enforcement of professional standards, with some success in fighting corruption.

Throughout this process of reform the European Union has been a close partner, working with you to provide advisory and material support. Over the last five years the EU has deployed four institution building projects and two ESDP missions (Concordia and Proxima). Our support to police reform so far amounts to over â,¬ 40 million.

Today we are launching a project which aims to support the accomplishment of the police reform by ensuring implementation of the Law on Police which entered into force in 2007. In other words this project will focus less on theory and more on practice, ensuring that principles and procedures are consistently applied, on a daily basis, on the ground.

The effective implementation of the law on police will require improved relations within the police force and between the police force and the wider community. Improved human resource management and carreer development systems are needed. Equitable representation within the police needs to move forward. There should also be a devolution of decision making to the field level. Externally the police should develop greater interaction with local communities. I look forward to considerable achievements in all these areas.

The European Union today, comprising 27 Member States, is a very diversified Union. There is no single model of policing. That is why we hope you will profit from experience across the European Union. I would like to thank Member States in advance for making available their expertise and providing for the deployment of resident advisors.

I should also like to thank the International Organisation of Migration for its participation in the component addressing the fight against trafficking in human beings. It is urgent that this despicable trade, which has its roots in organised crime, be effectively countered and that its innocent victims, often women and children, be protected.

Last but not least I wish to thank the Minister in advance for her personal commitment to realising the objectives of the project, together with her staff in the Ministry, at regional level and at municipal level.