OSCE to develop advanced training for border security personnel in south-eastern Europe

BELGRADE, 14 July 2004 - A two-day seminar in Belgrade will focus on regionally co-ordinated training measures for border security personnel in south-eastern Europe in order to help them reach European Union (EU) standards.

Organized jointly by the Republic of Serbia and the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna, the fifth seminar of the OSCE South-eastern Europe Cross-Border Co-operation Programme (OSCCP) started in Belgrade today.

The Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, Ambassador Maurizio Massari, reiterated the need for concerted cross-border co-operation in order to secure the borders of the region.

"Organized crime does not respect any borders," he said at the opening session.

"Therefore border police officers must be willing and able to work together with their colleagues from the other side of the border to effectively fight this problem."

The OSCCP is based on agreements made at the Ohrid Conference of 2003, in which the countries of the region committed themselves to jointly achieving short-term objectives in line with the Integrated Border Management Concept of the EU.

The OSCE is tasked with providing training and advice to border police and promoting regional co-operation.

Chief training officers of border police from Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania and UNMIK Police are attending the Belgrade seminar. Representatives of the EU, NATO, Stability Pact and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces are participating as observers.