14 minutes agoKosovo will have liaison officers in EUROOPOL
Periskopi(6 years ago)
(6 years ago)The Steering Board of the European Union Intelligence Agency, EUROOPOL, approved the labour agreement with law enforcement agencies in Kosovo, Croatia's Interior Ministry, which currently heads the EU Council, announced on Friday. The decision was made at the 115th session of this board, which was held in video-conference forms [...]
The decision was made at the 115th session of this board, which was held in video-conference forms on June 9th and 10th.
It becomes known that the agreement will be signed by the executive director of EUROOPOL and the Minister of Internal Affairs and Public Administration of Kosovo.
The agreement, adopted by the Steering Board, envisions co-operation between EuroOPOL and Kosovo Police, Kosovo Customs, Tax Administration and Units for preventing money laundering.
According to the announcement, with this agreement, Kosovo “provides new opportunities in international police co-operation”.
Kosovo, so far, has been the only country in the Western Balkans with which EUROOPOL has not had co-operation agreements and therefore has not been able to exchange information, with the aim of fighting serious and organised crime.
Given this job agreement, which will go into effect on sign day, Kosovo will create a central office for co-operation with EUROOPOL and will gain access to the EUROPOL communications channel, as well as the possibility of sending liaison officers to the EUROOPOL headquarters in The Hague.
In addition to co-operation with EuroOPOL, “Kosovo will thus have a new and more active form of co-operation with all EU countries, the statement said.
Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and Northern Macedonia are among the countries that are not members of the EU, but have liaison officers in EUROOPOL.
The Croatian Interior Ministry said the agreement with Kosovo “is an important step in strengthening co-operation with partners in Southeast Europe, in response to security challenges and promoting European values”.
Kosovo's unsuccessful path towards INTERPOL
Kosovo, since 2010, has made several attempts to join the international police agency, I NTERPOL, but has been hampered by Serbia, which has campaigned against Kosovo.
Last time, in November 2018, it has failed to secure the necessary majority, out of two-thirds of the votes of the countries participating in the ITERPOL General Assembly, to become a member of this mechanism.
In October last year, the then government of Kosovo has withdrawn the application for membership, putting off for this year.
