Macedonia as a Leader in the South-East Europe's Cooperation in the Fight Against Organised Crime (From Understanding and Responding to Terrorism, P 153-163, 2007, Huseyin Durmaz, Bilal Sevinc, et al., eds. -- See NCJ-224814)

• NCJ Number: 224828
• Author(s): Trpe Stojanovski
• Date Published: 2007
• Length: 11 pages
• Sale Source: IOS Press
• Publication Format: Book Chapter
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: Netherlands

Annotation

This paper describes how Macedonia, since receiving country-candidate status for membership in the European Union (EU), has become a leader in Southeast Europe in facilitating international cooperation in the fight against transnational organized crime and terrorism.

Abstract

In the last 10 to 15 years, Southeast European countries, specifically those considered to be Western Balkan, have struggled to establish stable institutions that can achieve the rule of law and protect human rights. The Stability Pact (1999) was created to improve the cooperation between the countries of Southeast Europe. The third Stability Pact Table addresses the sectors of Justice, Home Affairs, and Security. Regional and international cooperation in the prevention and fight against organized crime, terrorism, and corruption is a priority for the involved nations; and Macedonia has been at the forefront of this effort. Much remains to be done, however. The countries of Southeast Europe must bring their laws into compliance with international conventions in order to facilitate a consensus among nations about a strategy for preventing and countering transnational organized crime. Further, there must be a greater exchange of police and intelligence information at the regional level. This is needed in order for police and policymakers to understand the nature, scope, and threats of organized crime in the region. Such analyses indicate that regional organized crime is involved in the trafficking of illegal drugs, human trafficking, and economic crime. Although law reforms and cooperation among police agencies are underway among the countries of Southeast Europe, further improvement and simplification of the features and structures of bilateral and regional police cooperation is needed. Efforts must also focus on the joint training of law enforcement officers and the creation of national centralized databases of information on wanted organized-crime suspects and activities that can be shared with other countries. 4 references