The Ministers of Home Affairs and Justice of the Czech Republic, representing the Presidency of the Council of the EU, together with the European Commission, represented by the European Commissioners for Home Affairs and for Justice, met on 3-4 November 2022 in Tirana with their counterparts from the Western Balkans at the annual EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs. The meeting was also attended by representatives of the incoming Swedish and Spanish presidencies of the Council of the EU. The following matters were discussed:
HOME AFFAIRS
Cooperation in addressing the security impact stemming from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine
The EU and the Western Balkans stand in full solidarity with Ukraine. Ministers exchanged views on the security implications of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and measures undertaken to identify and counter the evolving criminal threats stemming from the conflict. They agreed to intensify their exchanges of information, in particular through Europol, and their operational cooperation through the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT), and to fully seize the benefits and opportunities stemming from their collaboration with CEPOL. Both sides also agreed on the need to further invest in strategic analysis, relying on Europol’s capacity and expertise in this field, to identify crime threats in a timely manner and, in so doing, develop targeted operational actions. The Commission and the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator highlighted ongoing regular contacts with the Ukrainian authorities on the matter.
Ministers stated their readiness to step-up efforts to protect vulnerable people against the threat of trafficking in human beings, to enhance cooperation to address the threat of trafficking and to facilitate the sharing with Ukrainian authorities of lessons learnt in the Western Balkan region and best practice in that respect.
Both sides agreed on the need to remain vigilant as regards implications for radicalisation and violent extremism. They agreed to intensify efforts to monitor travel, communication, and financing between violent extremists and to exchange information.
The EU and Western Balkans underlined the need to step up efforts to prevent and monitor the spread of Russian disinformation in the region, offline and online, and concurred on the need for the Western Balkans to keep investing in cyber resilience and in the protection of critical infrastructure. The EU reiterated its commitment to continue to provide robust support for the Western Balkans in building their capacity in these areas.
Strengthening migration, asylum and border management
The EU and the Western Balkan partners discussed the pressing situation along the Western Balkan migratory route, which has seen a significant upsurge in irregular migrants since the beginning of 2022 that has put a significant strain on reception capacities. Ministers reaffirmed that migration management is a common challenge and a shared responsibility that needs to be addressed by close partnership.
They agreed to strengthen the monitoring of trends along the route and to reinforce border management, including by the use of Frontex’s presence and mandate in the region. The EU and the Western Balkans welcomed the signature of the Frontex Status Agreement with North Macedonia and affirmed that new Frontex Status Agreements with other partner countries should be negotiated and concluded without delay with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia.
The EU welcomes that the Western Balkan partners have committed to swiftly align their visa policy with the visa policy of the EU, including a concrete commitment by Serbia to end several visa-free regimes by the end of 2022 and the first step it has taken in this regard. Additionally, the EU and the Western Balkan partners highlighted also the need to strengthen cooperation with relevant airlines as well as with countries of origin on the issue of migration. These measures are crucial to address the abuses that are currently impacting the migration and asylum systems of many EU Member States, and for the overall good functioning and sustainability of the visa-free regimes between the Western Balkans and the EU. This issue will be looked at closely by the EU, including in the context of the upcoming Commission report on the visa suspension mechanism.
The EU and Western Balkans welcome all efforts to combat migrant smuggling, including the launch today of a regional Anti-Smuggling Operational Partnership to strengthen law enforcement and judicial cooperation against criminal smuggling networks, and to increase the border management capacity of Western Balkans. The Operational Partnership will build on several ongoing initiatives, including the Common Operational Partnership “SCOPE”, the operational activities under the EMPACT and the information and awareness raising campaigns on the risks of migrant smuggling and irregular migration, and will further strengthen cooperation through joint investigations, stronger exchange of information, joint training for law enforcement and the judiciary and capacity building. These activities will be supported by EU funds, including through a new regional programme worth EUR 30 million to combat migrant smuggling and trafficking of human beings, to be proposed for adoption by the end of the year the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) 2023. The Ministers welcomed enhanced cooperation to counter migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings through the EMPACT, Europol’s European Migrant Smuggling Centre, and joint initiatives such as the Joint Operational Office in Austria. The Western Balkans agreed to improve the accuracy and efficiency in the registration and identification of irregular migrants.
Both sides agreed on the importance of carrying out returns and fully implementing relevant readmission agreements, and committed to exchanging best practices in relation to cooperation on readmission with third countries along the route. The EU committed to expanded financial support for supporting increased returns from the Western Balkans to third countries. The EU and the Western Balkans will continue their cooperation on return and readmission, and will monitor the implementation of the existing Readmission Agreements between the EU and the Western Balkans partners through Joint Readmission Committees. The Western Balkans acknowledged their obligation to readmit third country nationals who entered the EU illegally from the Western Balkans and agreed to step up efforts to expand and implement their own readmission agreements with countries of origin. Ministers highlighted the importance of enhancing asylum and reception systems across the Western Balkans in line with EU standards, including through cooperation with the EU Asylum Agency.
JUSTICE
Rule of law and judicial reforms
The EU and the Western Balkans reconfirmed the importance of continued commitment and efforts to strengthen judicial independence. The Commission informed ministers of the latest developments on rule of law within the EU and underlined that ensuring respect for the rule of law is a key priority both within the Union and in the EU’s relations with its partners. It highlighted the need for further progress on reforms aiming to strengthen judicial independence in the region. Western Balkan partners exchanged on the current challenges to fully ensure judicial independence and measures envisaged to address them. They reaffirmed their readiness to strengthen the rule of law, in particular by stepping up efforts to ensure the independence, accountability, impartiality, integrity, quality and efficiency of the justice systems. It is essential that reforms result in robust, tangible and irreversible progress.
The Commission presented to the ministers the results of the 2022 round of case-based peer review missions in the area of organised crime and high-level corruption in the Western Balkan partners, focusing on recommendations for the courts and prosecution services. The findings indicate that a more strategic and integrated approach towards tackling organised crime, high-level corruption, and money laundering remains to be developed, notably to include a more systematic focus on dismantling criminal structures through parallel financial investigations. The recommendations of the experts underline the need for increased specialisation of judicial authorities across the region, strengthening independence and preventing external undue pressures, notably through the availability of adequate internal mechanisms to report pressure or interference, and improving the system of appraisal of magistrates. The peer reviews are complemented with extensive trial monitoring of such cases, performed in collaboration with the OSCE. The EU called on Western Balkan ministers to ensure a thorough follow-up of the recommendations.
The Commission informed Ministers of its ongoing work to improve statistical data collection in the region in the areas of organised crime and high-level corruption. This work aims to facilitate improved analysis, assessment and reporting on partner countries’ progress towards building a track record of results in handling organised crime and corruption cases through a new e-platform. The EU recalled that building a solid track record of proactive investigations, prosecutions and final convictions in the fight against corruption, at all levels, and in serious and organised crime remains a long-term objective that requires more consistent efforts, including through further strengthening of strategic and operational capacities. To support these efforts, Eurojust announced that it will formally launch at the beginning of 2023 a new four-year project, WB CRIM JUST, aimed at strengthening judicial cooperation against serious and organised crime within the Western Balkans and between the region and EU Member States.
The Western Balkan partners expressed their full commitment to make credible and tangible progress in the prevention and repression of high-level corruption and in the fight against organised crime, in particular by implementing the recommendations of the peer reviews. All necessary resources will be deployed to ensure timely and quality statistical reporting in the new track records e-platform.
Joint action against the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine
Ministers discussed efforts to improve the enforcement of the restrictive measures and initiatives adopted in response to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. The Commission presented the activities of the Freeze and Seize Task Force and recent initiatives within the EU for the criminalisation of the violation or circumvention of restrictive measures against Russia. Eurojust presented its efforts to support and coordinate investigations and prosecutions of international crimes committed in Ukraine, in particular the Joint Investigation Team and the upcoming Core International Crime Evidence Database (CICED).
The Western Balkans partners1 committed to step up efforts to implement restrictive measures against Russia in force and prevent the violation or circumvention of sanctions. The EU and the Western Balkan partners discussed how to support Eurojust in its work to improve coordination of investigation and prosecution of war crimes and the other most serious crimes committed in Ukraine, as well as that of the Ukrainian authorities and the International Criminal Court. The EU reiterated its commitment to continue to provide support for the Western Balkans in their efforts.
The Commission also informed of recent measures taken in relation to citizenship acquired under investor citizenship schemes, including with regard to Russian and Belorussian nationals. Such schemes run by Member States are in breach of EU law and pose risks as regards security, money laundering, tax evasion, terrorist financing, corruption, and infiltration by organised crime. Ministers concurred on the need to discontinue investor citizenship schemes. With respect to any other measures such as tax amnesty legislation, they discussed the need to thoroughly engage with the EU to avoid any undermining of the fundamentals behind the justice reform or alignment with EU acquis and policies.
1 Except Serbia in that respect
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