VP/HR — The security measures required of the Bosnian authorities

30.5.2017

Question for written answer E-003600-17
to the Commission (Vice-President/High Representative)
Rule 130
Matteo Salvini (ENF) , Edouard Ferrand (ENF)

The US Department of State (Report 2017 — Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) — Bureau of Diplomatic Security) has assessed Sarajevo as being a ‘high-threat location for terrorist activity directed at or affecting official U.S. Government interests’.

The report also states: ‘During the 1992-1995 war, a large number of Islamic fighters traveled to BiH to aid the Bosnian Muslim war effort. Several hundred of them remained active in Islamic fundamentalist congregations and organisations, greatly influencing certain segments of the Bosnian Muslim community’.

The report continues: ‘Over the last several years, it is estimated that many citizens traveled to Syria and Iraq, making BiH one of the main source-countries per capita of foreign fighters in that war. Throughout 2016, the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) for BiH conducted several raids, arresting persons suspected of joining or supporting foreign fighters’.

Does the VP/HR share the concerns of the American government?

Given that negotiations concerning Bosnia’s application for EU membership are underway, what security measures will the Bosnian government be required to take?