Representatives of the security services of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia and Hezegovina are improving cooperation in the filed of returns

Representatives of the security services of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina worked on strengthening regional cooperation and exchange of experiences in the filed of return of third-country nationals in cooperation with the authorised institutions at a joint event in Budva, held from the 4th to the 5th of February 2025. On this occasion, a total of 65 participants from the Western Balkans had the opportunity to discuss important initiatives in the process of harmonizing work procedures, creating an informal platform of participants which, previously, took part in specialized specialist escort trainings. The aim of this initiative concerns the harmonization of work procedures within the previously mentioned services, as well as strengthening regional capacities in adequate preparation for managing migration processes while ensuring consistensy and synergy of operational readiness among the participating agencies in a timely manner.

Previously, members of these security services of the Western Balkans had the opportunity to practically strengthen their capacity to respond to challenges in the field of migration during 2024 through organised specialist training in Austria. These trainings helped to improve the skills of the participants; efficiency, coordination and improvement of the quality of operations in creating adequate responses in the field of security. With a focus on the exchange of concrete examples of improved coordination, the participants also touched on the topic of operational readiness, while adhering to international standars and regulations in the their actions.

Ensuring appropriate communication practices during operations, while also, ensuring compliance with human rights and inter-agency coordination, creates a strong imperative across the practices of all parties involved in the field of migration in the Western Balkans. The contribution to acheiving further regional synchronicity and strengthening professional support and cooperation in the field of migration will be enabled through continuous work on a comparable level of preparedness and professionalism, as well as timely work on the harmonisation of capacities and further exchange of information on professional pracices in work.

Hilfswerk International, as the implementer of the project „Strengthening Migration Management, Asyum and Return Processes in the Western Balkans“ implemented in parthership with the Joint Coordination Platform (JCP), seeks to facilitate a continuous and stimulating dialogue that will suppot the development of a cooperative regional approach in the field of migration. In this regard, a coordinated regional framework for addressing the challenges in the migration, asylum and return processes in the Western Balkans will be the main topic of future activities that will continue to ensure a smooth exchange of information at the regional level.

Project „Strengthening Migration Management, Asylum and Return Processes in the Western Balkans“ is funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and the Federal Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Austria.

More about the project:  https://hwi.ba/en/projects/refugees-migrants-displaced-persons/strengthening-migration-management-asylum-and-return-processes-in-the-western-balkans/22