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.
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.
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, this year’s third consultation took place in North Macedonia from 27 to 29 November 2023, followed by a second workshop from 29 November to 1 December 2023 for representatives of the Macedonian institutions responsible for financial investigations.
The consultations in Skopje were attended by 19 representatives from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of the Interior, the Financial Police, the Customs Administration, and the Health Insurance Institute, while 11 representatives from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of the Interior and the Financial Police participated in the workshops that followed in Veles. Thematically, the activities addressed topics and dilemmas related to their current cases and were designed according to their real needs in carrying out financial investigations and confiscating assets of illicit origin and proceeds of crime.
During the activities, Slovenian experts in the field of conducting financial investigations shared their experiences with the Macedonian participants from the perspective of the role of the prosecutor’s office, from the perspective of valuing and calculating assets of illicit origin, and from the perspective of implementation and coordination of the criminal investigation of proceeds of crime.
During the consultations and workshops, Slovenian experts acknowledged the progress made in developing the capacity of Macedonian investigative and law enforcement authorities to carry out financial investigations and assured them that they could rely on their continued assistance along the way.
The assistance will be implemented again by the end of this year in the form of a new workshop and consultations. The third workshop of this year will take place in North Macedonia from 11 to 13 December 2023, followed by the fourth consultation of this year on strengthening the capacity of Macedonian institutions to carry out financial investigations from 19 to 21 December.
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.
From 27 to 29 November, the 3rd consultations will take place in North Macedonia within the framework of the project “Support in Chapter 24 – Financial investigations”, with the support of Slovenian development assistance. Our experts will share their knowledge on the valuation and calculation of assets of illicit origin, criminal investigation of proceeds of crime and conducting financial investigations from a prosecutor’s perspective.
The consultation will be followed by workshops from 29 November to 1 December, focusing on sharing experiences and good practices on financial investigation procedures according to standards carried out in EU Member States. Special emphasis will be placed on the support of Macedonian financial investigators to be more familiar with such practices, with the aim of enhancing their capacity to conduct financial investigations more effectively.
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, Financial Administration, Ministry of the Interior, and the Police of the Republic of Slovenia.
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, Financial Administration, Ministry of the Interior, and the Police of the Republic of Slovenia.
We’re always happy to welcome guests at our beautiful castle, and today we were able to host not only one but two delegations working towards the same goal – preparing their countries to join the European Union in the shortest and fastest manner.
Mr Zurab Khamashuridze, Director, Department of European Integration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was heading the delegation of the Parliament of Georgia, which is a national coordinating body for all activities related to the process of EU integration. The discussion evolved around CEP experiences with candidate countries and 12 priorities set by the European Commission to be addressed by Georgian authorities before being granted candidate status. Building on good past cooperation on the digital diplomacy program, it was agreed that we can upgrade our relationships and provide concrete support in priorities linked to the rule of law, anti-corruption measures, and involvement of civil society in decision-making processes, to name a few.
State Secretary from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia, Mr Filip Toseski, attended bilateral consultations with his Slovenian counterparts and paid a visit to CEP. As this was his first visit to Slovenia, we presented the four pillars that CEP is working on, and we were happy to learn that he has already heard about interesting and useful CEP training courses. Topics of concrete Slovenian support to North Macedonia were discussed, not forgetting to praise the already established good cooperation between the Specialized State Prosecution Office, the Financial Police and the Customs Administration from both countries in the framework of bilateral cooperation on financial investigations supported by Slovenian Aid.
It was agreed that Slovenia has valuable expertise that can be utilised by North Macedonian colleagues to accelerate their way towards full membership of the European Union.
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.
With Slovenian development assistance, capacity-building activities in financial investigations will continue in North Macedonia between 4 and 7 July 2023.
In the framework of the project “Support in Chapter 24 – Financial investigations”, consultations and workshops will be held for the institutions responsible for financial investigations in North Macedonia. During consultations and workshops, Slovene experts from the Specialised State Prosecutor’s Office, the Financial Administration and the Police will share their experience in dealing with real-life cases with their Macedonian colleagues.
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.
