Director General of the Police, Mr Jože Romšek, invited Director of the Federal Office of the Swiss Police, Mr. Jean-Luc Vez, to visit Slovenia; the latter responded to the invitation on 8 and 9 July 2008.

This is the first official bilateral meeting of the Director General of the Slovenian police and the Director of the Federal Office of the Police of the Swiss Confederation. The main topics of the delegation talks were the evaluation of the cooperation so far, implementation of contracts in the field of combating crime and return of persons, Schengen evaluation of Switzerland and the influence of Slovenia in the ratification process and the Schengen evaluation in Switzerland.

Director General of Slovenian Police Jože Romšek and Director of Swiss Police Jean-Luc Vez

The first talks with Slovenia about the accession of Switzerland to the Schengen acquis began in the framework of preparations to the Slovenian Presidency of the EU. The representatives of the Slovenian police advised Switzerland how to prepare for the integration in the Schengen area. The accession of Switzerland strongly resembles the latest enlargement of the Schengen area with the accession of nine countries (including Slovenia) in 2007/2008.

The federal arrangement of Switzerland reflects also in the organisation of the Swiss police divided in the communal, cantonal and federal levels. Police and judicial administration are under the jurisdiction of 26 cantons responsible for the adoption, education, training, equipment, armament and uniforms. Besides the cantonal police forces, this function is performed by communal police forces in major towns and communities.

From left to right: associate director of the Criminal Investigation Police Rajko Kozmelj, head of the Sector of International Relations under the authority of director general of the police, Vladimir Pocek, associate director of the Swiss Police Arnold Bolliger, director general of the Slovenian police Jože Romšek, director of the Swiss police Jean-Luc Vez, associate director of the Uniformed Police Administration Marko Gašperlin, and the police attaché of Switzerland in Rome Hans-Peter Marthaler.

The cooperation between the polices of both countries is based on a highly professional level, especially in the exchange of operative information in the field of crime. Furthermore, the cooperation takes place in the form of information exchange and claims through Interpol as well as through the police attaché of Switzerland Hans-Peter Marthaler, accredited at the Swiss embassy in Rome and competent for Slovenia, too. In addition, Slovenia has cooperated with Switzerland in the activities of the Central European Police Academy (MEPA) for 13 years.