Fifth Joint Training – VIS held in Ohrid
In the framework of the Project “Support of cooperation among border police on airports in Southeast Europe” BORDAIRPOL, MARRI Regional Centre organized Fifth Joint Training on the topic “Visa Information System- VIS”, which took place on 28 January, 2015 in Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia.
The Training was conducted by Mr. Laurent Bonansea, European Commission representative who provided basic information and utilization of VIS, outlooks and challenges from the EC perspective as well as legal background that included Council Decision and Council Regulation related to VIS.
Representatives from Bulgaria, France and Romania shared experiences in regards to procedures in data handling, keeping of VIS data in national files, data security, protection of personal data as well as conditions for access to VIS data by designated authorities.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia official has presented its experiences and best practices in implementing VIS.
Presenters have provided details in regards to national structure, organization, recruitment, training and practical usage of VIS, but also the monitoring and evaluation procedures.
Border police officers from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania and Kosovo* took part at the Training with capacities to further multiply obtained knowledge within the respective Border Police Units.
Aiming at promoting regional cooperation and enhancing security and stability, MARRI Member States welcomed the participation of Kosovo* (Cavtat Declaration, June 2014) in all future MARRI activities.
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence
The Joint Training is the fifth out of six trainings that will be organized in the field of air border policing particularly those needed for fulfillment of the required standards for the accession to the EU focusing on the preparation and implementation phase based on the evaluation processes carried out by the European Commission.
Mr. Trpe Stojanovski, Director of MARRI Regional Centre expressed professional gratitude to the participants, emphasizing that MARRI shall continue facilitating the process of enhancing and creating preconditions for more efficient police cooperation, built professional approach and speed up European integration process of the Member States.
Director has also stated that further implementation of BORDAIRPOL Project and future ones shall enable all interested parties to intensify cooperation with international institutions as well as other regional initiatives.