3. 4. 2018 | Macedonia - Finance, PR
In the framework of Slovenia’s Development Cooperation with the Republic of Macedonia and the project “Support to Macedonia in accession to the EU in the Chapter 24 – financial investigations” a meeting with the State Prosecutor General of the Republic of Macedonia Mr Ljubomir Joveski will take place on 5-6 April 2018 in Macedonia.
Mr Drago Šketa, the State Prosecutor General of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr Harij Furlan, Head of the Group of state prosecutors for the prosecution of organized crime at the Office of the State Prosecutor General of the Republic of Slovenia, and Ms Andreja Dolničar Jeraj, Programme Director at the Centre for European Perspective will attend the meeting. The talks will focus on the needs assessment of the Macedonian state prosecution office in the field of EU accession and Chapter 24 – financial investigations and active involvement of the Macedonian state prosecution office in the Slovenia’s Development Cooperation programmes.
Project is part of CEP program activities financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia in the framework of Slovenia’s Development Cooperation.
4. 7. 2017 | Macedonia - Finance, PR, Slovenian Development Assistance
On the margins of the International Development Cooperation of the Republic of Slovenia within the framework of support to the Republic of Macedonia, on 29 June 2017 the Minister of Interior of the Republic of Macedonia Oliver Spasovski received a Slovenian delegation in the following composition: Andreja Dolničar Jeraj, CEP Programme Director and Head of Delegation; Harij Furlan, Head of State Prosecutions Office for Organised Crime and Corruption; Darko Majhenič, Director of National Investigation Bureau; Damjana Slapar Burkat, Head of Sector for Investigation in the Financial Administration; Jože Levašič, District State Prosecutor in the State Prosecutions Office for Organised Crime and Corruption; Igor Razpotnik, Head of Investigations in National Investigation Bureau; and Karmen Šemrl, Expert for Knowledge Transfer.
Minister thanked for the support provided by Slovenia to the Ministry of Interior and Macedonia in the accession to the EU in optimising the system of financial investigations and confiscation of unlawful proceeds of crime and property of illegal origin. Minister Spasovski and Programme Director Andreja Dolničar Jeraj agreed that the cooperation and coordination among law enforcement authorities in financial investigations of organised crime and corruption is of particular importance. Minister Spasovski reaffirmed willingness of the Ministry of Interior regarding reform initiative and expressed political support for achievement of sustainable results and expectations that well established cooperation will be further strengthened with additional Slovenian’s support in any of other reform needs.
O slovenskem razvojnem sodelovanju z ministrom za notranje zadeve Republike Makedonije Spasovskim
Ob robu aktivnosti v okviru projekta mednarodnega razvojnega sodelovanja Republike Slovenije z Republiko Makedonijo je v četrtek, 29. 6. 2017, minister za notranje zadeve Oliver Spasovski sprejel slovensko delegacijo v naslednji sestavi: Andreja Dolničar Jeraj, programska direktorica in vodja delegacije; Harij Furlan, vodja Specializiranega državnega tožilstva, Darko Majhenič, direktor Nacionalnega preiskovalnega urada, Damjana Slapar Burkat, vodja Sektorja za preiskave Finančne uprave, Jože Levašič, okrožni državni tožilec v Specializiram državnem tožilstvu, Igor Razpotnik, vodja preiskav na Nacionalnem preiskovalnem uradu, in Karmen Šemrl, strokovnjakinja za prenos izkušenj.
Minister se je zahvalil za pomoč, ki jo Slovenija namenja MNZ in Makedoniji pri približevanju EU v optimizaciji sistema finančnih preiskav in odvzemov protipravno pridobljene premoženjske koristi in premoženja nezakonitega izvora. Minister Spasovski in programska direktorica Andreja Dolničar Jeraj sta se strinjala, da je zelo pomembno dobro sodelovanje in koordinacija med organi v finančnih preiskavah organiziranega kriminala in korupcije. Minister Spasovski je potrdil pripravljenost Ministrstva za notranje zadeve glede prevzemanja reformne pobude in izrazil politično podporo za doseganje trajnostnih rezultatov ter pričakovanje, da se bo dobro sodelovanje še utrdilo s podporo Slovenije v še kateri od reformnih potreb MNZ.
1. 7. 2017 | Macedonia - Finance, PR, Slovenian Development Assistance
In the period from 26 to 29 June 2017, the first phase of the capacity building process in the field of financial investigations and confiscation of unlawful proceeds and property of unlawful origin took place in Macedonia.
The two-day workshop was attended by 15 representatives of the Ministry of the Interior / Police (who are in charge of the project on Macedonian side), Customs Administration, Financial Police, the Directorate for Money Laundering Prevention and the Public Revenue Administration, while five representatives of the Ministry of the Interior Interior / Police participated in the individual councelling/coaching. In the exchange of experiences, the representatives of Macedonia and Slovenia have identified differences and related advantages and disadvantages that occur in the conduct of financial investigations. As one of the possible tools for more effective prevention of organised crime and corruption and upgrading of the system for confiscation of unlawfull proceeds under criminal law, participants also studied experiences in confiscation of property of illegal origin in civil justice procedure. In the discussions the participants agreed that only the measure which can be effectively implemented can lead criminals to the conclusion that crime does not pay.
This is a two-year project (2017-2018) funded from the Program of International Development Cooperation of the Republic of Slovenia and implemented by the Ministry of the Interior/ Police, State Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime and Corruption and Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia, led by the Center for European Perspective.
Uspešna izmenjava izkušenj Makedonije in Slovenije o finančnih preiskavah
V Makedoniji je v času od 26. do 29. junija 2017 potekala prva faza procesa krepitve zmogljivosti na področju finančnih preiskav in odvzemov protipravne premoženjske koristi in premoženja nezakonitega izvora.
V dvodnevni delavnici je sodelovalo 15 predstavnikov Ministrstva za notranje zadeve/Policije (ki so tudi nosilci projekta na makedonski strani), Carinske uprave, Finančne policije, Uprave za preprečevanja pranja denarja in Uprave za javne prihodke, v enodnevnem individualnem svetovanju pa 5 predstavnikov Ministrstva za notranje zadeve/Policije. V izmenjavi izkušenj so predstavniki Makedonije in Slovenije ugotavljali razlike in z razlikami povezane prednosti in slabosti, ki se pojavljajo v izvajanju finančnih preiskav. Kot enega izmed možnih orodij za učinkovitejše preprečevanje organiziranega kriminala in korupcije in nadgradnjo sistema odvzema nezakonito pridobljene premoženjske koristi v okviru kazenskopravne zakonodaje, so udeleženci preučevali tudi odvzem premoženja nezakonitega izvora v civilni pravdi. V diskusiji so se udeleženci strinjali, da le ukrep, ki ga je možno učinkovito izvesti, lahko storilce kaznivih dejanj in kriminalne združbe privede so sklepa, da se kriminal ne izplača.
Gre za dvoletni projekt (2017-2018), ki je financiran iz sredstev Programa mednarodnega razvojnega sodelovanja Republike Slovenije in ga izvajajo Ministrstvo za notranje zadeve/ Policija, Specializirano državno tožilstvo in Finančna uprava Republike Slovenije pod vodstvom Centra za evropsko prihodnost.
19. 6. 2017 | Macedonia - Finance, PR, Slovenian Development Assistance
Macedonia will receive support for the accession to the EU in the Chapter 24 in the framework of the programme of Slovenia’s Development Cooperation and the focus of this support will in next two years (2017-2018) be to build capacities in the area of financial investigations. From 26 to 29 June 2017 a workshop will take place in Macedonia involving those in Slovenian and Macedonia who direct the work of investigation and suppression of organised crime and corruption.
They will exchange experiences and recognise differences, which can significantly influence the success of identification and confiscation of proceeds of crime and property of unlawful origin. Since the main motive of perpetrators of organised crime as well as means for their functioning, is to gain proceeds, financial investigations and confiscation of proceeds of crime are important tool in fight against organised crime and corruption. The project, managed by the Centre for European Perspective, is conducted in the cooperation with the Ministry of Interior/Police, Ministry of Justice, Specialised State Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime and Corruption and Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia.
The project is part of the programme activities funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia with funds for international development cooperation.
Makedoniji pomoč Slovenije na področju finančnih preiskav
Makedonija bo v okviru programa mednarodnega razvojnega sodelovanja Slovenije prejela pomoč pri približevanju EU v poglavju 24, pomoč pa se bo v naslednjih dveh letih (2017-2018) osredotočala na krepitev zmogljivosti na področju finančnih preiskav. Od 26.-29.6.2017 bo v Makedoniji potekala delavnica, na kateri bodo izmenjali izkušnje tisti, ki so v Sloveniji in Makedoniji vključeni v usmerjane dela pri preiskovanju in pregonu organiziranega kriminala in korupcije, in ugotavljali razlike, ki lahko pomembno vplivajo na uspešnost ugotavljanja in odvzema protipravno pridobljene premoženjske koristi in premoženja nezakonitega izvora. Ker je glavni motiv in hkrati sredstvo za delovanje storilcev organiziranega kriminala pridobitev premoženjske koristi, so finančne preiskave in odvzem premoženja nezakonitega izvora pomembno orodje v boju proti organiziranemu kriminalu in korupciji. Projekt, ki ga vodi Center za evropsko prihodnost, se izvaja v sodelovanju z Ministrstvom za notranje zadeve/Policijo, Ministrstvom za pravosodje, Specializiranim državnim tožilstvom in Finančno upravo Republike Slovenije.
Projekt je del programskih aktivnosti, ki jih financira Ministrstvo za zunanje zadeve iz sredstev za mednarodno razvojno sodelovanje.
23. 3. 2017 | Albania - Local Governments, BIH - Entrepreneurs, European Digital Diplomacy Exchange, Kosovo - Entrepreneurs, Macedonia - corruption, Macedonia - Finance, Macedonia - Resources, Montenegro - EU Accession, PR, Serbia - Migration, Slovenian Development Assistance
CEP and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia signed a two-year contract in the framework of Slovenia’s development cooperation for seven new projects that account for 430.400 EUR. Up until today, CEP successfully conducted over 100 development projects in the Western Balkans region.
The projects in 2017 and 2018:
Empowering Kosovo and BiH’s Young Entrepreneurs
The two projects show how Slovenia supports young entrepreneurs and start-ups and empowers young people from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo to cooperate among each other. By gaining such knowledge, young people will be able to trigger changes that are crucial for better use of the potential of their good ideas and knowledge – on the local, entity and national level. Entrepreneurial mindset and innovative thinking are core to the healthy economic growth, which ensures wellbeing and development for the population. In the framework of the two projects, 20 people from BiH and 20 people from Kosovo will get a chance to participate at the leading regional start-up conference, where they will meet investors, big corporations, listen to the most experienced start-up teams on the international scene and network with the young entrepreneurs with a similar mindset. Youngsters with the best ideas will be able to develop their entrepreneurial ideas and attract the attention of potential investors.
Assistance to Montenegro on EU Accession
The project aims to directly help the working groups from Montenegro in the EU accession negotiations and the relevant state institutions that contribute to the process. Slovenian experts will offer consulting in the framework of the opened negotiation chapters. The dynamics and content of the project will follow the dynamics of the negotiations of Montenegro and their preparation of negotiating strategies, opening and closing of the chapters and other conditions that Montenegro needs to fulfill before its accession to the EU.
Support to Albanian Local Governments on the Preparation of EU/International Projects
The project is focused on the transfer of good practices from Slovenia in the field of strategic programming on the national level and implementation of the projects on the local level. It is based on a number of workshops, through which Slovenian experts offer training in project management to the representatives of Albanian municipalities, regional development agencies and representatives of youth and other non-governmental organizations. They share their experiences when it comes to the implementation of the internationally (with a special emphasis on the EU) supported and financed projects on the regional and local level. At the end of the trainings, participants prepare their own draft application with an authentic project idea.
Support to Macedonia in the EU Accession in Chapter 24 – Financial Investigations
With the project, CEP continues to support Macedonia to strengthen their capacities in fight against organised and serious crime and corruption. Since financial gains are both the pre-condition and the main incentive for organised crime, effective implementation of financial investigations and freezing and confiscation of assets in the framework of the Chapter 24 represent the most successful type of measures in fight against organised and serious crime and corruption. The project includes three workshops, individual consultations and development of a study curriculum with selected cases from Slovenia. The project is conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs/Police, Specialised State Prosecutor’s Office and Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia.
Capacity Building on Illegal Migration Information Exchange (Serbia)
In 2018, Serbia will receive assistance in order to improve the information exchange system in the field of illegal migrations. With increased migrations, the trafficking in human beings represents the most profitable business of the criminal organizations. The fight against such activities became the priority of all the EU states, and also Serbia, being part of the accession process. In the framework of the project we will exchange experiences and conduct an analysis of the gaps in the current cooperation and information exchange. The workshop that will follow will help develop a communication strategy proposal with practical directions for a more efficient system of operational information flow and effective response to the illegal migrations on the field.
Support to the Development of Efficient Use of Resources Policies (Montenegro)
The focal topic is development and implementation of environmentally responsible policies that support sustainable development and efficient use of natural resources. The objective of the project in 2018 is to assist the adoption of economic solutions that protect the natural resources, for instance the new development paradigm of circular economy that can prevent the negative trend of exploitation of the non-renewable sources and excessive pollution while boosting economy. The public sector has to be a role model that emits an important signal to the Montenegrin market, striving an increase of the supplies of environmentally friendly products and services. During the workshop, the role of the green public procurement and the circular and low-carbon economy will be presented as well.
