Strengthening the Fight against Illicit Trade in South Eastern Europe

Strengthening the Fight against Illicit Trade in South Eastern Europe

In the first phase of this project, the Institute focused on identifying a wide range of experts, including 12 national legal experts, 2 regional legal experts and training experts. The national and regional experts then commenced in-depth studies of the practical challenges and obstacles in fighting illicit trade in South Eastern Europe. The first phase’s foundational research and analysis was further developed throughout the second phase of the project, which was launched at a “High-Level Regional Strategic Dialogue on Illicit Trade in South Eastern Europe” which took place in Siracusa in December 2018. The Dialogue brought together 95 national ministers, general prosecutors, and directors of police and customs, as well as directors of INTERPOL, Europol, the Southeast European Law Enforcement Center and UN Office on Drugs and Crime, among other regional and international stakeholders.

Building on the collaborative platform established at the Regional Strategic Dialogue, the Institute conducted in 2019 seven “National Strategic Dialogues (NSDs)” in seven priority countries. Feedback received was extremely positive, both from participants as well as partner institutions. All events were well-attended, with a total of 350 national and 119 international criminal justice officials participating.

In 2020, the Institute launched the final project report, titled “Closing the Implementation Gap: Criminal justice responses to illicit trade in South Eastern Europe and associated challenges”. This legal and policy report provides the first region-wide sketch of national criminal justice systems’ challenges and opportunities for tackling the phenomenon of illicit trade more holistically, and elaborates recommendations for national and regional leaders and policymakers.

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Download Executive Summary (English)

Download the Executive Summaries (all languages)