Editorial - European Union Police Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina

He explains that he worked for NATO
and OSCE after leaving the ICTY, and
while the jobs were interesting, he
always wanted to come back to BiH and
work in the field of politics. So, when
he saw the job advert for the EUPM, it
was like a sign from heaven.
”I think this country is incredibly in -
teresting, and I think it still has the path
to go, especially following the events of
1992-1995,” he adds.
We discuss the recent history of the
country and De Cesare shares stories of
his adventures coming to Sarajevo during
the war, when he attracted not-sopositive
attention of some paramilitary
patrols thanks to the ICTY equipment
he was transporting, until the conversation
winds back to Tuzla and the new
adventures of his daily work.
Take your time
”My average workday means meeting
some of the key players in our area of
responsibility, as well as real decisionmakers,”
he says. ”For example, for the
last two weeks we have been consumed
by few major issues, and one of them is
the building of the church near Po to ča -
ri. So, what I do is go to the communities,
to people, see how they feel. I think
it is very important for a political adviser
not to take the word of the press and
not to go after the “superstars” that
seem to claim the media attention. Only
when you talk to people around them
can you really get the feeling where this
Newcomers
AUSTRIA
Sonja-Maria Illigasch, 36, recently
joined the EUPM as Crime Advisor
to Regional Office Tuzla. She comes
from Austria and has been working
for the Austrian Police for more than
15 years. She joined the police after
high school and from 2001-2010
worked in the Ministry of Interior,
dealing with law enforcement matters. In particular, after
the Schengen acquis, she was responsible for the
implementation of compensatory measures. In 2010,
Illigasch returned to regular policing and is the officerin-charge
in Gleisdorf police station. Her field of police
expertise includes crime investigation. Illigasch's first
mis sion experience was in Kosovo in 2005/2006
(UNMIK), when she was deployed as MTO with the
Specialised Police Unit in Pri{tina. When asked what
mo tivated her to join the EUPM, Illigasch says: ”The
most important aim is to incorporate as much police
experience within my work in BiH and to bring all the
experience which I gained in BiH back home to Austria
so my police colleagues and the police system in my
country can benefit from it”. Her hobbies are gardening,
walking, socialising, and travelling with her daughter.
European Union Police Mission | www.eupmbih.eu
is going, what problems it can potentially
lead to.”
This is followed by writing an analysis
of the situation and forwarding it to
through Chief Adviser to Head of Mis -
sion so they can get a better picture on
what’s going on. So, says De Cesare,
his job is to gather information, analyse,
ensure the counterparts in both civil
society and police get aid they need,
and maintain relationships with the
main players in the region. And, when
done properly, this leads to…
”We have excellent cooperation with
everybody in the region, but I must say
that doesn’t come just because. My col-
POLAND
Jacek Michalkowski, 51, recently
joined the EUPM as Crime Adviser to
Regional Office Tuzla. He comes
from Poland and holds a Master's
degree in Agriculture, Bachelor's de -
gree in Pedagogy and a diploma in
Na tional Security Studies from Po li ce
Academy. Before joining the po lice,
he worked in the Army as Tank Platoon Leader. He holds
the rank of Major and his position in the national police
is Crime Analyst, investigator of cases related to serious
crimes, with a rich background in various as pects of
police work. Michalkowski's previous inter na tional
experience includes working as Crime Adviser in the
UNOMIG mission in Georgia/Abkhazia in 2007/2008 and
Chief of Logistic of Special Police Unit, the EULEX
mission in Kosovo in 2008/2009. When asked what mo -
tivated him to join the EUPM, Michalkowski mentions
three priorities: exchange of work experience with local
police and international colleagues, challenges of wor -
king in a multinational environment, and, finally, lear ning
about BiH customs and traditions. He is married and has
a 19-year-old daughter. Michalkowski is also an active
member of the International Police Association (IPA),
league Dijana, who is National Poli ti -
cal Officer for Northeast BiH, and I ha -
ve invested a lot of time in building the
trust. It doesn’t come from nothing; it
doesn’t come just because you are
EUPM, or whatever you may be. This
trust and good cooperation took a lot of
time, a lot of effort, and a lot of caring.
Caring to know who they are, what is
their reality that they may be experien -
cing,” explains De Cesare.
But it was time well spent, he says, as
he can now pick up the phone and get a
straightforward answer from anyone, at
any level. As the time for our interview
is now running short, the chat about
relationship-building inevitably gets us
talking about EUPM’s Tuzla Regional
Office and their team.
”I think it works quite well,” says De
Cesare enthusiastically. ”As of Septem -
ber last year, we have a new Chief
Adviser, I think he is excellent, he’s very
pragmatic, he’s very driven and he
wants to be aware of what’s going on
everywhere, which is very good. I think
it’s important to be able to report, and
to be able to share information. Our
team is pretty good, there’s good cooperation
between us, it’s a very small
office and we rely on each other and
work well together.”
Our all-too-brief conversation ends as
De Cesare has to run to another meeting,
but we understand his rush – as he
said, creating solid, trustworthy relationships
with counterparts takes only
our most precious asset - time. �
and a former Secretary General, now liaison officer, of
Polish IPA. He is also Chairman of Polish Police
Collectors Club (his personal collection of police caps, he
tells us, can be seen on his website www.jackpolice.eu).
SLOVAKIA
Igor [pek, 38, recently joined the
EUPM as Adviser to Border Police.
He comes from Slovakia, holds a
Master's degree in Law and Security
Services, and the rank of Major.
[pek's position in the national police
is Senior Police Officer and his field
of expertise and professional police
experience includes border control, legal and illegal mi -
gration, visa policy, EU Legislation related to migra tion
and stay of foreigners. His previous international ex pe ri -
ence includes the EUPM in BiH in 2004/2005, and the
EUPM in Ukraine and Moldova in 2007. When asked
what motivated him to return to the EUPM, [pek says:
”The possibility to work in BiH again, this time at the
strategic level with our counterparts, on our main goal -
getting BiH closer to the EU”. He is married, with a 16month-old
daughter. His favourite free-time activities are
travelling, reading and active re laxation. �
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