On 14-15 June 2023, in the framework of the “Support in Chapter 24 – Financial investigations”, project meetings were held in Skopje with representatives of the interested professional and international community in North Macedonia. Meetings were held at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the OSCE Mission in Skopje, and the Development Cooperation Section of the Embassy of Sweden, which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU. During the meetings, the interlocutors were presented with information on activities carried out since 2019 with Slovenian development assistance in North Macedonia in the field of capacity building of the Macedonian institutions responsible for financial investigations, the challenges they are facing on the way to improving their results, the changes and progress they have already achieved in the framework of the project, as well as the ones that are still ahead of them on the path of European integration.
The meetings with the international community were followed by discussions with legal expert Prof. Dr Vlado Kambovski, President of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, on the changes and adjustments to the legislation that are needed in North Macedonia to conduct financial investigations more effectively according to EU criteria and standards.
The meetings with the interested professional and international community were also an opportunity to discuss the possibilities of cooperation and networking in the implementation of Slovenian development assistance programs aimed at Macedonian institutions to prevent illicit financial flows as effectively as possible, to accelerate activities to confiscate the proceeds of crime and property of illegal origin, to combat the illicit arms trade and, more generally, to fight all forms of organized crime and corruption in North Macedonia as successfully as possible, as any progress the country makes in these areas will naturally be mirrored beyond its borders.
Photo: Meeting with the representatives of UNODC and the Swedish Embassy in Skopje.
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.
On 14-15 June 2023, in the framework of the “Support in Chapter 24 – Financial investigations” project meetings with be held in Skopje with representatives of the interested professional and international community in North Macedonia.
The meetings will be aimed at presenting the activities implemented with Slovenian development assistance in North Macedonia in the field of financial investigations and the progress that the Macedonian institutions responsible for financial investigations within the framework of the project are pursuing and achieving on the path toward full EU membership.
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.
Slovenian development assistance to North Macedonia under Chapter 24 in the area of financial investigations continues in the programming period 2023-2024. This is a third two-year project aimed at strengthening the capacity of Macedonian law enforcement and prosecution authorities to carry out financial investigations in line with EU criteria and standards, with the aim of confiscating proceeds of crime and assets that cannot be proven to have been acquired through legitimate means.
The start of North Macedonia’s accession negotiations for EU membership and the European Commission’s recommendations that more needs to be done in the coming period to improve the effectiveness of law enforcement in fighting financial crime provide further motivation for the Macedonian law enforcement and prosecution authorities to strengthen their capacities with the aim of improving results in the field of financial investigations.
The institutions responsible for financial investigations in North Macedonia rely on the expertise of the Republic of Slovenia to develop their capacity in the field of financial investigations. In the past period, an excellent partnership and trust have been established in which Macedonian institutions have adopted the Common Guidelines for Financial Investigations on the basis of Slovenian experience and, under the mentorship of Slovenian experts devoted themselves to ensuring the conditions for their implementation.
Thus, between 8 and 10 May 2023, a kick-off meeting and first consultations with representatives of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Financial Police, the Customs Administration and the Ministry of Interior took place in Skopje and Gevgelija, North Macedonia, within the framework of the project “Chapter 24 Assistance – Financial Investigations”. Slovenian expert delegation led by the programme director conducted its expert visit with the involvement of the state prosecutor of the Specialised prosecution office and an expert in the valuation and calculation of assets of illicit origin.
Activities are funded by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of 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.
To move forward on the path to the EU and achieve European standards in the field of financial investigations and procedures for confiscating proceeds of crime and assets of illegal origin, North Macedonia has relied on the knowledge and experience of Slovenia, which has been assisting North Macedonia in this area through international development cooperation and humanitarian aid programs since 2019.
In 2019, the institutions responsible for financial investigations in North Macedonia adopted the Common Guidelines for Financial Investigations based on the Slovenian experience. They further concluded that the Guidelines provide a good starting point for an efficient and effective approach to strategic and operational planning of financial investigations. In 2021-2022, the Macedonian institutions, with Slovenian experts’ support and cooperation, strengthened their capacity to put the Common Guidelines into practice in the framework of the project “Chapter 24 Assistance – Financial Investigations”. At the end of 2022, the Macedonian investigative and law enforcement authorities dealing with financial investigations took the initiative to strengthen financial investigation capacities in 2023-2024. With the development assistance of the Republic of Slovenia so far, they have achieved a significant mindset breakthrough and some progress towards European standards in the field of financial investigations. They are aware that they not only need to proceed with activities. They also need to accelerate their dynamics. Slovenia will continue to support them in this process over the next two years with development assistance.
A kick-off meeting and first consultations with representatives of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Financial Police, the Customs Administration, and the Ministry of the Interior will take place in North Macedonia between 8 and 10 May 2023. Representatives who have received training in the past period will also attend the consultations. The reunion of Macedonian investigators with Slovenian experts will be an opportunity to discuss how to apply theoretical and classroom knowledge appropriately in real-life situations and cases, considering the criteria applicable in the EU.
Activities are funded by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of 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.
