In North Macedonia, activities to strengthen the capacity of Macedonian institutions to carry out financial investigations continued between 3 and 7 July 2023 in the framework of the project ” Support in Chapter 24 – Financial investigations “. The project is being implemented with Slovenian development assistance. This was the second consultation this year, followed by workshops. Both activities focused on the processing of real cases and the procedures for conducting financial investigations in line with EU standards.
The consultations took place in Skopje, and the workshops that followed in the east of the country (Kočani). The activities were conducted with the participation of Slovenian experts from the Specialised State Prosecution Office, the Financial Administration, and the Police, while on the Macedonian side, they were attended by representatives of the institutions responsible for financial investigations in North Macedonia from the ranks of the Public Prosecution Office, the Ministry of the Interior (Police), the Financial Police and the Customs Administration. The consultations were first held with each institution individually and then continued with group work in the workshop part of the program, involving all institutions at the same time.
Participants in the consultations and workshops renewed their gratitude once again to Slovenia and representatives of Slovenian investigative and prosecuting authorities for their help and support in implementing changes in their institutions in the context of EU accession regarding the conduct of financial investigations and the confiscation of assets of illicit origin and proceeds of crime. In particular, they were thankful to the Slovenian experts for sharing their knowledge, advice, and practical experience in dealing with real cases. The discussion gave them the opportunity to check and validate their practices and to identify areas and steps that still need to be improved to progress. As extremely positive and welcome, the Macedonian participants saw the opportunity to bring together the different Macedonian institutions in charge of financial investigations in the same place and the possibility to exchange experiences and good practices among them at the same time. They also welcomed the fact that they will be able to put into practice immediately everything they have learned in the consultations and workshops.
Activities are funded by the Republic of Slovenia through its International Development Cooperation Programme and implemented in cooperation with the State Prosecution, Financial Administration, Ministry of the Interior, and the Police of the Republic of Slovenia.
The Peace Operations Training Centre (POTC) is organising a Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT). The course will take place at Gotenica Police Training Centre in Slovenia from Sunday 24th to Friday 29th September 2023.
HEAT’s purpose is to train professionals to deal effectively with risk-associated and emergency/critical situations while deployed in hostile environments abroad.
Up to 24 professionals with different backgrounds, working or aiming to work with national or international (non)governmental organizations, academic or private sector are eligible to apply for participation in the training.
The participants will join an experienced group of Slovenian and foreign trainers for a five-day intensive course in the southwestern part of Slovenia. The training is designed to:
improve participants’ knowledge about multiple threats present in hostile field environments and learn how to deal with them in an effective manner
rehearse and practice safety and security procedures accordingly to specific threats
develop skills and behaviours to deal with different stressful situations.
Activities include lectures, guided discussions, role-playing, simulations, and a complex field training exercise. Trainees will be addressing deployment in hostile environments (threat awareness, management of various threats, etc.), medical help, orientation, communications, mobility, etc.
Additional Information
The participation fee for an individual attendee amounts to 1700,00 € before taxes and covers all costs related to training delivery except travel costs. Participants, sent by the Slovenian Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, are exempt from paying a participation fee.
English proficiency is a precondition for attending as the training program is conducted in English. A valid driving license for cars with manual transmissions is required.
POTC reserves the right to reject the participation of any applicant without providing specific reasons. The selected applicants will receive information on their successful registration on August 21st at the latest.
All applicants should register hereby August 20th 2023.
Course Director [email protected] is available for any additional information.
Download PDF with more information about HEAT here.
Countries and regions face challenges that know no borders; hence to tackle them successfully, they need to be addressed collectively. The EU Macro-regional strategies identify common needs and challenges of the region, as well as regional cooperation potentials. They connect people across borders, sectors and governance levels and help to coordinate joint policies. The EU Macro-regional strategies are meaningful and make regions stronger, more resilient and attractive.
EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region directly influences 70 million people from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia. It contributes to further integration of the internal market, to the region’s stability, and to foster cooperation between EU and non-EU countries.
It is of utmost importance that great results of the EU Macro-regional strategies are presented to the public, which is often challenging as the issues are complex. For that reason, in the framework of EUSAIR, the EUSAIR Communication Academy was organised for EUSAIR key implementers, government communicators and journalists. While the first edition focused on the tools and techniques needed for effective digital communication, the second edition focused on transferring abstract issues simply, comprehensively and persuasively.
EUSAIR Communication Academy 2.0 occurred from July 5th to July 6th in Thessaloniki.Thirty participants from seven countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia) attended the Academy. Four speakers shared knowledge with us and answered two main questions: what to communicate and how to communicate it successfully. All the lectures were followed by practical and short presentations. Some great ideas sparked, and we had interesting discussions. Like always, the official programme of the EUSAIR Communication Academy was combined with a rich informal part aiming to foster an environment for experience sharing, creating new links and strengthening the old ones.
This week a second edition of EUSAIR Communication Academy will be taking place in Thessaloniki in Greece.
The training is a continuation of EUSAIR Communication Academy, a three-part capacity-building program that took place in 2022. Whereby the first edition focused on the tools and techniques needed for effective digital communication, EUSAIR Communication Academy 2.0 will focus on explaining complex and abstract issues in a simple, comprehensible, and persuasive way. The participants will gain the critical skills and tools to support them in effectively communicating EUSAIR to the stakeholders and interested public. Participants attending the EUSAIR Communication Academy are EUSAIR key implementers, government communicators, and journalists.
During a two-day programme 30 participants from EUSAIR countries will attend communication workshops on the topics of simplifying messages and simplifying language, leveraging AI tools for communication purposes as well as effective communication with the media. The theory will be applied to practical tasks conntected to EUSAIR and its communication, such as developing EUSAIR key messages and writing press releases.
The official programme of the EUSAIR Communication Academy will be combined with a rich informal programme aiming to foster an environment for experience sharing among diverse participants.
