VIENNA/SARAJEVO – The opening conference of the EU-funded project to establish the International Law Enforcement Coordination Units (ILECUs) in the Western Balkans was held in Vienna, today, under the auspices of the Austrian Ministry of Interior, relevant Slovenian and Romanian ministries, and the Secretariat of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC).

The project, to be implemented under the EC CARDS Regional Programmes 2005 on Justice and Home Affairs, is worth 2 million euros. It will last for 24 months and involve six countries as beneficiaries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Commenting on the project, the Deputy RCC Secretary General, Jelica Minic, said the RCC fully supported and would actively participate in promotion, advancement and connecting of ILECUs, as one of the most important projects in the overall regional cooperation in the Western Balkans, with all related regional structures.

“As a key regional EU partner, the RCC role in the ILECUs project will amongst other be to maintain strong cooperation among the beneficiaries, implementing countries and partner organizations, assist in the sustainability of the ILECUs, and facilitate observation of the legal basis formed by the Police Cooperation Convention for South-East Europe.”

The general objective of ILECUs is to create an effective international law enforcement cooperation mechanism among the Western Balkans beneficiary countries and to achieve an improved international law enforcement cooperation in the region. The ILECUs, integrated in national criminal intelligence models, are designed to support the exchange of information in international investigations and facilitate contacts on operational level.