The European Union is pursuing a so-called ‘integrated approach’ to combat organised crime and corruption in the Western Balkans. As part of this approach, various projects focusing on the different aspects of the criminal justice chain are setting up coordination mechanisms and exploring ways for cooperation in concrete activities.
On 24 March, representatives of the IPA2014 project International Cooperation in Criminal Justice: the Prosecutors’ Network of the Western Balkans met in Skopje with representatives of the WINPRO II project, which aims to improve the area of witness protection.
On 14 April, the teams of the IPA2014 project “International Cooperation in Criminal Justice: the Prosecutors’ Network of the Western Balkans” (prosecution project) and of the IPA2013 project “Fight against Organised Crime: International Cooperation in Criminal Justice” (police project) met in Rome at the Palazzo Cimarra, the headquarters of the Office for Coordination and Planning of Police Forces of the Italian Ministry of the Interior (the latter being responsible for coordinating the police project).
During this meeting the project teams were acquainted with the two respective projects, their structures and staff. Furthermore, concrete agreements were made for a thorough coordination between both projects and activities for joint implementation were identified. The results of the meeting were presented to a joint session of both Steering Committees, which took place on 15 April.
Link: European Commission report on the coordination of the two projects