EU-MENA discuss police cooperation


 2 junho 2021
EU-MENA discuss police cooperation
​On the 31st of May, a conference to debate the reinforcement of police cooperation took place at Centro Cultural de Belém, in a hybrid format, which brought together the Member States of the European Union and countries from North Africa and the Middle East.

The Conference was attended in Lisbon, at the opening session, by the Portuguese Minister for Home Affairs, Eduardo Cabrita, accompanied by the General Commander of National Republican Guard (GNR) and the National Directors of Public Security Police (PSP), Immigration and Borders Service (SEF) and Criminal Police (PJ). The opening session was also attended, live from Brussels, by the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson - see here​.

During the proceedings, active interventions were registered from the Executive Directors of CEPOL and EUROPOL, and the Secretary General of Interpol - all present in Lisbon -, highlighting the importance and timeliness of this theme for European Agencies and international organisations.

The Conference was also attended remotely by the Executive Director of FRONTEX and the Secretary General of the Arab Council of Interior Ministers, as well as the Director General of DG Near and the Deputy Director of DG Home.

This initiative resulted in a consensus on the need to strengthen dialogue on police cooperation, seeking to identify common challenges and threats and to find joint solutions for more effective international cooperation, namely through the strengthening of ongoing projects or new proposals, such as the policing partnership model presented first-hand by the Director of EUROPOL.

The Presidency launched the challenge and invitation to organise another meeting in 2022, to discuss what has been achieved and to jointly develop a roadmap and common sustainable strategy.