Western Balkans Partnership Against Crime and Terrorism - WB PACT II (CEPOL)

Duration

01 April 2024 – 31 March 2028

Beneficiary/ies

Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia

Donor/s

European Union, represented by the European Commission

Funding Amount

EUR 6,000,000

Funding gaps (if any)

N/A

Objective/s

The overall objective of the Project is to enhance the operational and strategic capacities of authorities in the Western Balkans to fight organised crime and terrorism.

The action has two specific objectives:

1. To strengthen operational cooperation within the Western Balkans and between the region and the EU on organised crime and terrorism using the expertise of the Justice and Home Affairs Agencies.
2. To enhance the Western Balkans' strategic cooperation and the use of coherent approaches in addressing challenges related to organised crime and terrorism. 

Contributing to the Roadmap goal/s

Contributing to the Roadmap overall targets

Goal 3:

Prevent trafficking (smuggling, illicit trade and transit) of FAE through improved processes, equipment and training of targeted law enforcement units.

Key activities implemented up to date

The Project organzied a national training on firearms trafficking in Belgrade, Serbia, from 16–20 December 2024, in partnership with the Serbian Ministry of Interior. The training improved investigations into poly-criminal organised crime groups by strengthening intelligence analysis, international cooperation, and police-prosecutors coordination. Topics included darknet arms sales, cryptocurrency use, encrypted communications, inter-agency data sharing, and public-private collaboration. Workgroup discussions addressed the link between firearms crime and terrorism, financial investigations, and the importance of informal communication in threat mitigation. Representatives of police, customs, and prosecution authorities took part in the activity.

Main challenges encountered

N/A