Summary of the Police Forum meeting

The second meeting of the Police Forum for South Eastern Europe took place in Belgrade on 7 June. The meeting was convened under the auspices of Working Table III of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe and sponsored by the Government of Norway. It gathered 40 participants representing ministries of interior and police forces of the region, as well as international experts. The Forum also included the participants of the Working Group for Regional Police Training and Co-operation in South Eastern Europe. The Chairman of Working Table III, Ambassador Kim Traavik, chaired the meeting.

The representative of SCSP presented an update on the ongoing police related initiatives under the Stability Pact. It underlined that the various initiatives are inter-linked and mutually reinforcing.

It was generally recognised that the countries of the region face similar challenges in the field of policing and in particular in the field of organised crime. The participants reiterated their support for and commitment to strengthen co-operation between police forces and law enforcement agencies of the region.

The discussions focused on common regional challenges in the fight against organised crime, and the participants presented updates on the national progress on national measures and regional co-operation.

The point was made that organised crime represents a serious problem to the region and that it is an obstacle to economic development and the rule of law. Operation plans and projects, involving all the countries of the region, should be initiated. Furthermore, it was underlined that legislative initiatives must be undertaken in the fight against organised crime in the region.

The representative of Interpol stressed the importance of the countries of the region to be sufficiently equipped in order to initiate trans-border operations and the exchange of information.

The Chairman underlined that police co-operation and -networking is an important focus of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe. The frameworks and the mechanisms are in place and it is important that they are utilised.

Reference was made to the second meeting of the Working Group for Regional Police Training and Co-operation in SEE, in Belgrade 6 June. A summary of the meeting was presented to the participants, which included a list of future training activities.
It was recommended that two police training activities be held in 2001, the first devoted to illegal migration and the second to trafficking in human beings.

From 2002 and onwards, training will be provided on the following areas: Police Management, Policing in Multicultural Communities, Trafficking in Drugs, Financial Crime and Money Laundering, and Police Ethics, among others.

The Working Group recommended training activities be organised under the auspices of the Association of European Police Colleges (AEPC) in co-operation with the Nordic-Baltic Police Academy and the Central European Police Academy (CEPA). The training activities will be held according to a roaming concept, and Croatia has offered to host the first training activity.

In order to secure long-term funding, the Working Group recommended that the training activities are presented at the Regional Conference in Bucharest in October 2001. The Government of Norway is funding the work of the Working Group, has offered to fund the two first training activities, and has signalled continued support for the initiative along with other donors.

The participants at the Police Forum fully endorsed the work and recommendations of the Working Group and gave their full support to the framework for the upcoming training activities planned by the Working Group.

Finally, it was a broadly shared view that the Police Forum is a useful framework for exchanging views and information on policing issues of common interest and concern. It was recommended that a third Police Forum should be held towards the end of 2001.