CEPOL Executive Director attends in Albania Ministerial Meeting of the Berlin Process

CEPOL's Executive Director, Montserrat Marín López participated this week in the Ministerial Meeting of the Berlin Process, where high-level discussions centred on critical security topics in the Western Balkans.

The event, which took place on 14 September in Tirana, Albania, brought together prominent leaders and decision-makers from across Europe to address three pivotal themes: integrated border managemeny, regional cooperation in the fight against organised crime, and partnership on cybersecurity in the Western Balkans.

The participation of CEPOL's Executive Director underscored the agency's commitment to enhancing security, law enforcement, and cooperation in the region, aligning with the broader European Union's objectives to ensure stability in the Western Balkans.

The meeting emphasised the importance of collaborative efforts in combating organised crime across the Western Balkans. CEPOL's commitment to providing training and knowledge-sharing platforms for law enforcement agencies was acknowledged as a vital component in tackling this pressing issue. CEPOL remains steadfast in its mission to support law enforcement agencies in the Western Balkans and across the European Union, working collaboratively to address shared security challenges and ensure the safety and well-being of citizens.

Montserrat Marín Lopez highlighted:

The Ministerial Meeting of the Berlin Process provides a valuable platform to discuss and coordinate efforts in critical security areas. CEPOL is committed to being a proactive partner in these discussions and will continue to provide training and expertise to enhance security in the Western Balkans. As CEPOL continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of security cooperation, it remains dedicated to facilitating knowledge exchange and capacity-building among law enforcement agencies to strengthen security across the Western Balkans and the European Union.

 

During the event, Montserrat Marín Lopez had bilateral meetings with the ministers of interior from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia and the state secretary from Serbia. During the meetings it was emphasised the importance of collaboration and knowledge sharing in tackling security challenges in the region, reaffirming CEPOL's commitment to enhancing law enforcement capabilities in the Western Balkans. The meetings provided the opportunity to update the ministers with the current state of play of the Western Balkans Partnership against Crime and Terrorism project (WB PaCT) and about the outcomes of the operational training needs assessment (OTNA) deployed in the region.  The OTNA lays down the foundation for setting regional training priorities and a future, solid training programme with improving the sustainability of law enforcement training. It also identified training gaps, which shall be addressed by the partners and the donor community to maximise the impact of law enforcement capacity building actions.

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(*) WB PaCT is currently implemented in the Western Balkans by CEPOL, in partnership with Europol. It aims at enhancing the capacity of the authorities to fight organised crime and terrorism, including preventing and countering violent extremism, by enhancing cooperation within the region and with the EU.