Justice Minister aims to strengthen EU-Western Balkans anti-terrorist cooperation
On 4 and 5 May, Prague hosts a seminar on the cooperation of the EU and the Western Balkans countries in the fight against terrorism, organised by Eurojust (EU's Judicial Cooperation Unit) in cooperation with the Czech Ministry of Justice, Ministry of the Interior and the Czech Police.
Prosecutors, policemen and experts from EU Member States share information and experience related to the opportunities for strengthening the anti-terrorist cooperation between Eurojust, Europol and the EU Member States on one side and the Western Balkans countries on the other. The key factor is the attendance of the experts from this region who will present case studies proving that the cooperation established in the past has been strengthened. Specific contributions on the developments in the Balkans since the end of the armed conflicts will be presented by the representatives of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.
What Eurojust is offering to the Western Balkans countries is, in particular, practical aid in the form of education, training, technical assistance and seminars. "Eurojust cooperates with EU Member States, organises meetings where we exchange practical experience, and sends observers to the Western Balkans countries. We have not got to know the Western Balkans very well yet; therefore, we need to establish a relationship of trust so as to cooperate effectively", said Eurojust Vice President Michèle Coninsx.
The countries of the Western Balkans have been growing in importance for the EU Member States. Further EU enlargement and the process of visa liberalisation are impossible without simultaneous steps in the field of security. "This is yet another reason why the Czech Presidency focuses on increasing security in the Western Balkans. The current visits of experts to these countries, aimed, among other things, to map the level of anti-terrorist measures adopted, find partners for the planned assessment missions and summarise objective needs, have made an extraordinary contribution. The visits should be followed by EU assessment missions that should be complete by the end of 2009," said Czech Deputy Justice Minister Marek Ženíšek.
Czech security experts travelled to the Western Balkans several times from 2005 to 2008, investigating the issue of combating organised crime, terrorism, drugs and human trafficking, financial crime etc. The contacts thus made are now continuously used to resolve specific cases.
"The effectiveness of experts from the Western Balkans countries is worth nothing but praise. The cooperation established in 2005 has developed successfully. Thanks to good relations, we have managed, for instance, to detain a group of Czech citizens in Montenegro and to uncover drug-related crime that took place between the Czech Republic and Serbia", said Czech Deputy Minister of the Interior Lenka Ptáčková – Melicharová.
In the fight against organised crime and terrorism we first of all need new legislation which is implemented in practice. We also need a sufficient number of people in the legal system and the administration.
"The fight against terrorism is based on cross-border cooperation – a well constructed network of international points. Therefore, we have "points of contact" – persons and institutions that act in a specific country as information specialists and that help us penetrate terrorist structures and components – in countries outside the EU, as well", said Czech Supreme Prosecutor Renáta Vesecká to describe the role of experts.
Cooperation on the level of justice is also getting tighter. On 28 November 2008 the Justice and Home Affairs Council adopted a new framework decision about fighting terrorism which for the first time criminalises also public incitement to commit terrorist acts and recruiting and training people for terrorism and puts a special emphasis on the need for a rigorous clamp-down on such activities when they are carried out or organised using the Internet.
Contact:
- Petra Střítecká, spokesperson of the Ministry of Justice for the Presidency
- tel.: +420 221 997 261, mobile: +420 737 247 353; e-mail:pstritecka@msp.justice.cz
Last update: 16.8.2011 15:24
