(Sarajevo, 9 December 2021) - The European Union donated today 5 specialized vehicle trailers for transport with mobile homes for multi-day service dog stay, 70 Binoculars, 25 thermal cameras, 30 handheld night vision devices, one SUV vehicle and a shallow draft service vessel worth over 430.000 euros. The donation is part of the EU’s continuous support to BiH Border Police aiming to support their day to day operations in the field. The equipment was handed over by the Head of Operations Section for Justice, Home Affairs and Public Administration Reform at the EU Delegation to BiH Nicolas Bizel in the presence of the Director of the BiH Border Police, Zoran Galić and IOM Bosnia and Herzegovina Deputy Chief of Mission, Blanche Picarello.

Tomorrow, the European Union will donate one van and one thermal imaging camera worth around 47.000 euros to the West Herzegovina Ministry of Interior.

The European Union continues to support Bosnia and Herzegovina in migration and border management system in the context of the increased number of refugees and migrants present in the country since the end of 2017.

Thanks to the EU assistance, temporary reception centres in BiH have been established, including the recently opened new reception centre Lipa. The assistance includes provision of basic accommodation, food and water, sanitation, clothing and psychological counselling services, as well as access to education and health services for migrants residing in BiH. The donated funds are also used to purchase equipment and provide expert assistance to the Ministry of Security, Service for Foreigners’ Affairs, Border Police and the Sector for Asylum of BiH, State Investigation Agency and protection (SIPA), the Ministry of Interior of Una-Sana Canton, and other institutions and agencies. 

The project “EU Support to Migration and Border Management in Bosnia and Herzegovina” is funded through an Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) special measure and is implemented by the IOM in partnership with UNHCR, UNICEF, UNFPA and the Danish Refugee Council (DRC).