Eastern Partnership countries and EU discuss regional security threats and training priorities at Strategic Cooperation Forum

Last week, CEPOL and Europol hosted the delegations of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine in the framework of the TOPCOP project’s Second Strategic Cooperation Forum. The event provided an opportunity to Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries to share their perspectives on the regional threats and security challenges they are facing.

Montserrat Marin Lopez, Executive Director of CEPOL opened the event reaffirming the commitment to boosting operational cooperation between the European Union Member States and the Eastern Partnership countries, in line with the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats.

Yvonne Gogoll from the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) ensured the participants about the EU’s commitment: “The war in Ukraine changed the security landscape, and we are all working hard to support Ukraine. The European Council recognised the membership perspective for our associated partners, so we will intensify our cooperation on the regional level, including with all other Eastern Partnership countries who are interested in working closer together with the EU law enforcement agencies. Conflict and instability is fertile ground for organised crime, and one thing is for sure; fighting cross-border crime requires cross-border cooperation.”

The EaP partners highlighted that transnational organised crime is a direct threat to their national security, and they identified risks in the areas of Trafficking in Human Beings, Cybercrime, Drugs Trafficking and Firearms Trafficking. In this context, the EU emphasised the importance of a unified and coordinated approach to fight against these crimes.

At the forum, participants also endorsed the pilot concept on a new regional approach for cascading knowledge in the national training systems and on the drafted handbook on trafficking of human beings for trainers. Furthermore, they concluded on the training priorities to respond to the current and the future regional crime threats and challenges by enabling the transfer of knowledge from both sides and focus on preventive measures.

The event saw the participation of the EMPACT, representing Austria, Belgium, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Poland, as well as delegates of the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME), and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI).

About TOPCOP

TOPCOP aims at improving operational effectiveness and fostering cooperation between the law enforcement authorities of the EU Member States and the Eastern Partnership countries. For more information, please visit the project page.