CEPOL Executive Director meets Minister of Internal Affairs in North Macedonia

CEPOL Executive Director, Dr. h.c. Detlef Schröder is concluding today a 2-day visit in Skopje, where he had several high-level meetings. The purpose of this visit was to further strengthen cooperation with North Macedonia and discuss how the agency can support the country’s efforts to combat organised crime by providing training or capacity building opportunities for law enforcement officials, in particular in relation to the Partnership against Crime and Terrorism project in the Western Balkans (WB PaCT).

During his visit, Dr.h.c. Schröder had the opportunity to meet with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia and Minister of Internal Affairs, H.E. Mr. Oliver Spasovski, and discuss topics of common interest. The Executive Director of CEPOL presented the agency’s vision for the future and explained what it can offer in terms of training and learning opportunities for law enforcement officials. He also updated the Minister on the WB PaCT project (*) and encouraged the participation of the local law enforcement community in standard CEPOL training activities, including the CEPOL Exchange Programme, as well as in activities organised within the scope of WB PaCT.

The Executive Director of CEPOL also met with the Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, Ambassador Clemens Koja, to explore opportunities of strengthening the cooperation between the two organisations, particularly in the field of law enforcement training.

 

(*) 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. North Macedonia is among the six beneficiary partners.

North Macedonia was also a beneficiary of the previous WB FI project, a joint UNODC – CEPOL project on capacity building on financial investigations in South Eastern Europe.

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