29. 12. 2023 | PR
Kliknite tukaj za branje prispevka v slovenskem jeziku.
Consultations and workshops for Macedonian investigative and prosecution authorities that were implemented in the week between the 18th and 21st of December 2023 in North Macedonia mark the final activities within the scope of the project” Support in Chapter 24 – Financial investigations” for the year 2023.
The implemented activities enabled further possibilities for the exchange of best practices, mutual training and capacity building that contribute to the development of procedures towards the fight against organised crime and corruption, with special attention for financial investigations.
The consultations, which took place at the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office Skopje and were attended by representatives of the Customs Administration, the Ministry of the Interior, the Office for Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing Terrorism and the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office Skopje, addressed the dilemmas that Macedonian investigators and prosecutors face in real-life cases of ongoing financial investigations. Consultations were provided by a prosecutor from the Specialised State Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Slovenia, an expert in business, tax and public sector crime from the Criminal Police Directorate of the Republic of Slovenia and a Slovenian expert in the valuation and calculation of assets of illicit origin. The consultations were intensive and provided an opportunity for an in-depth joint review of the data and to explore the possibilities for the successful implementation and conclusion of specific financial investigations aiming to confiscate assets of illicit origin and proceeds of crime.
The consultations were followed by a workshop in Dojran, attended by representatives of the Macedonian Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Financial Police, the Customs Administration and the Ministry of the Interior, who have already been involved and trained in the project’s previous activities, and who have been involved in the drafting of the Standard operating procedures for Financial Investigations (SOP), to be adopted by the institutions in the second half of 2022. This time, they discussed with their Slovenian colleagues how they can contribute to the development and improvement of the financial investigation system in North Macedonia through their knowledge and experience, transferring it to their colleagues in their institutions, the use of SOP for financial investigations, continuous improvement, inter-institutional cooperation, and teamwork.
The consultations were also attended by Ljubomir Joveski, who just a few days later – on 25 December 2023 – completed his term of mandate as the Public Prosecutor of the Republic of North Macedonia and who has already participated in the “Support in Chapter 24 – Financial Investigations” project in previous phases, including as a signatory to the Joint Guidelines for the Conduct of Financial Investigations signed by the Macedonian institutions on 7 June 2019 in Ljubljana. At the end of his mandate, he thanked the Republic of Slovenia for its development assistance and assessed the project as very important for the Macedonian prosecutor’s office and the institutions responsible for financial investigations. He said that he expects many positive effects from the project, as since its presence there are already signs of a shift towards faster and more efficient work.
The consultations and workshops in December successfully concluded all planned activities of the two-year program cycle of the “Support in Chapter 24 – Financial Investigations” project for 2023. Further activities are scheduled for 2024.
Further information:
Milanka Ilić
Project Manager
Centre for European Perspective
Activities are funded by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Republic of Slovenia through its International Development Cooperation Programme and implemented in cooperation with the State Prosecution, Ministry of the Interior, and the Police of the Republic of Slovenia.
20. 12. 2023 | PR, Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in 6 Western Balkans Countries
Novica v slovenščini je dostopna tukaj.
In its final in-country visit in 2023, the project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in the Western Balkans made its way to Tirana, Albania. On 15 December, the project organised an insightful discussion with Albanian society, as well as with local and European experts and practitioners.
Participants highlighted that although the challenge of foreign-perpetrated disinformation may seem muted in Albanian society, it is highly present as information is uncritically shared from foreign sources by different societal actors. Fact-checking is often a race against time, whereas media, as well as digital literacy, remain an ongoing priority.
Presentation of the findings by BIRN Albania showcased that foreign information manipulation is not as rare an occurrence as is commonly believed, and copy-pasting from foreign media outlets without fact-checking presents a big challenge for society. Representative of EEAS underlined the support of the EU to Albania and Western Balkan partners and the commitment of the EU’s diplomatic arm to strengthen the resilience against foreign information manipulation and interference. Participants also had the opportunity to hear first-hand accounts of good practices in EU Member States – how fact-checking works in the world-renowned media outlet Deutsche Welle, and how access to reliable information is incorporated in the national emergency supply of Finland. Exchange with international experts, learning from good practices, and support from the EU are prerequisites for further work in this area.
The project also held a closed-door discussion with representatives of the Albanian government and state agencies, which revealed the need to maintain and expand the whole-of-government dialogue on countering foreign-perpetrated disinformation and an opportunity for greater collaboration in the future.
While the in-country visit to Albania wrapped up the Western Balkans tour for 2023, in 2024, the project will continue on its mission and is already hard at work preparing its visits to Kosovo and Montenegro.
The Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Disinformation in the Western Balkans is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia through development cooperation funds.
19. 12. 2023 | EUCTI, Peace and security, POTC, PR
In January, POTC will facilitate a Training of Trainers for the Namibia International Women’s Peace Centre (NIWPC) in Windhoek, Namibia. The aim of this cooperation is to bolster the capacities of the nascent Namibian Peace Centre in the field of peace operations.
Kliknite tukaj za branje članka v slovenskem jeziku.
The training is supported by the European Union Civilian Training Initiative (EUCTI), which aims at enhancing the abilities of the deployed civilian staff in EU CSDP, OSCE, UN, AU and other crisis management missions to work in an efficient, effective and sustainable manner to implement their respective missions’ mandates.
More specifically, the cooperation between POTC and the NIWPC, together with the support of EUCTI, will focus on delivering the Training of Trainers (ToT) course. The ToT course is designed to strengthen the training skills of members of international crisis management missions and peace operations to either support them in designing and delivering the ToT courses or to equip the subject matter experts with skills, knowledge and attitudes to be more effective trainers.
The target audience of the ToT is personnel from the NIWPC, Namibian police, military and civilian structures who are involved in designing, planning, organising and delivering training programmes in their respective training structures. The course will come for first-time trainers and those with more experience. All participants will be given the chance to practice, acquire and develop new competences and/or build upon existing knowledge, skills and experience.
The training will cover the designated 7 ToT Modules (Module 1 – Being a Trainer, Module 2 – Teaching and Learning Theories, Module 3 – Techniques to Use in a Training Session, Module 4 – Managing the Training Environment and Effective Communication, Module 5 – Planning, Preparation of a Training Session, Module 6 – Delivery of a Training Session, and Module 7 – Assessing Learning and Evaluating a Training Event) as well an additional Module 8 »Mission Environment Training Specifics« which will take a holistic look at the entirety of the other modules and apply the mission environment specifics to them.
The POTC Team, together with the trainers, is looking forward to cooperating with our Namibian partners and delivering this essential training for Namibian peace operations personnel in Windhoek.
This training is supported by the European Union Civilian Training Initiative (EUCTI).
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13. 12. 2023 | Bled Strategic Forum, POTC, PR
On Tuesday, December 12th, the Centre for European Perspective (CEP) hosted a roundtable discussion titled ‘The Republic of Slovenia as a Non-Permanent Member of the UN Security Council 2024–2025: Streamlining our Approach Toward Common Objectives.’ The event took place at Jable Castle.
The discussion highlighted Slovenia’s commitment to four key priority areas during its presidency: 1) proactive measures for conflict prevention; 2) ensuring the protection of civilians in times of armed conflicts; 3) advancing the cause of women, peace, and security; and 4) addressing the intricate relationship between climate, peace, and security. These areas of emphasis were carefully chosen based on existing needs and unanswered questions, illuminating persisting challenges that demand ongoing attention.
Roundtable’s Key Contributors
Nina Čepon, Executive Director of CEP, commenced the event with introductory remarks. She expressed gratitude to all attendees for their presence and subsequently provided insights into CEP’s initiatives. Her remarks touched upon diverse projects, ranging from collaborations with Ukraine and the Western Balkans to addressing misinformation, building capacities for peacekeeping and engaging in projects involving artificial intelligence.
Following Ms. Čepon’s introductory remarks, Mr Peter Grk, Secretary General of the Bled Strategic Forum and National Coordinator for the Western Balkans at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, skillfully guided the conversation with a panel of five speakers. Setting the stage, Mr. Flavio Milan from the Federal Department for Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, heading UN coordination and serving as deputy head of the UN division in Bern, shared opening insights. His unique perspective, rooted in Switzerland’s precedence over Slovenia in the United Nations Security Council, offered valuable insights and experiences. In light of unfolding global events, Mr. Milan acknowledged the challenges anticipated in the upcoming year.
The subsequent contributors included Mr Matej Marn, Head of the UN Security Council Task Force at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia; Ms Sabina Stadler Repnik, Head of the Strategic Studies and Analyses Service at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia; Dr Ljubica Jelušič, Professor at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences; and Mr Samo Selimović, Coordinator of the Peace Operations Training Centre (POTC).
Roundtable’s Conclusions
The roundtable also served as an opportunity to map out other Slovenian actors – NGOs, Institutes and research organisations – to present their activities, aligned with the Slovenian priorities and provide ideas on future collaboration with the Slovenian government within these topics.
The dialogue, alongside the panellists, reached a consensus on the challenging times anticipated ahead. Despite Slovenia’s relatively small size, the prevailing sentiment was that size should not be a limiting factor. The collective commitment urged the pursuit of peace while remaining steadfast in upholding core values.
We want to thank the panellists, representatives of various Slovenian NGOs and institutes, and the numerous audience members who contributed to the successful and engaging roundtable. Even though our traditional pre-holiday roundtables were halted during the COVID-19 pandemic, we will strive to continue with this tradition and offer you insight into another relevant topic next year.
11. 12. 2023 | Development (ODA), Macedonia - Finance, PR, Regional cooperation
Kliknite tukaj za branje prispevka v slovenskem jeziku.
The fight against organised crime and corruption is one of North Macedonia’s strategic priorities, and progress in this area is also expected from the EU. Macedonian investigative and prosecuting authorities are also committed to making progress in this direction and are actively working to improve their competence and skills in the field of financial investigations. In this respect, they rely, inter alia, on the expertise provided by the Republic of Slovenia under the International Development Cooperation Programme through the project ” Support in Chapter 24 – Financial investigations”.
As part of this project, fourth consultations along with third workshop for representatives of the Macedonian institutions responsible for financial investigations will take place in North Macedonia from 18 to 21 December 2023.
During the consultations and workshops, Slovenian experts will continue the progress already made in developing the capacity of Macedonian investigative and law enforcement authorities to carry out financial investigations and continue their assistance along the way.
Further information:
Milanka Ilić
Project Manager
Centre for European Perspective
Activities are funded by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Republic of Slovenia through its International Development Cooperation Programme and implemented in cooperation with the State Prosecution, Ministry of the Interior, and the Police of the Republic of Slovenia.
