CEPOL Executive Director attends the Informal JHA Ministerial Meeting in Logroño

Following the invitation of the Spanish Minister of Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, earlier this year, CEPOL Executive Director, Montserrat Marín López visited Logroño from 19-21 July, to participate in the Informal Ministerial Meeting on Justice and Home Affairs.

Taking the floor during the working session on ‘Organised crime as a global threat: towards greater international collaboration, especially in the fight against drug trafficking’, Ms. Marin López noted: ‘CEPOL contributes to the fight against organised crime through the provision of specialised training to EU law enforcement officials, and the identification of training needs within each common security threat. CEPOL also supports third countries in their capacity-building efforts, in line with the EMPACT (European Multidisciplinary Platform against Criminal Threats) priorities, via its international cooperation projects’.

‘Our agency will continue to capitalise on its EU-STNA (European Strategic Training Needs Assessment) 2022-2025 findings, particularly focusing on bridging the identified core capability gaps, such as digital skills, financial investigations, high-risk criminal networks, etc.’ she added. Ms. Marín López also underlined, in line with the CEPOL Strategy 2023-2027, the agency’s plans to enhance international cooperation, including Latin American countries, since ‘law enforcement training is an indispensable element in the envisaged security cooperation between the EU and Latin America’.

Furthermore, at the working session entitled: 'Ukraine: developments in Russian aggression and security challenges', the Executive Director of CEPOL explained how the agency has been providing support since the outbreak of the war. Among others, she highlighted the findings of the Training Needs Analysis on the impact of the war in Ukraine; the agency’s capacity-building support to Ukraine and Moldova, by involving the national Law Enforcement Services in the DG NEAR-funded regional project, TOPCOP; and CEPOL’s participation at the EU Support Hub for Moldova.

‘Training and capacity building are indispensable elements for effective operational cooperation in the region. Within a continuously evolving criminal landscape, we are ready to step-up our efforts and provide our full support to both Ukraine and Moldova’, she concluded.

Read more about CEPOL’s concrete actions to support Ukraine here.