Capacity Building Workshop on Information Exchange
Ljubljana, Slovenia - A strong need for enhanced information exchange within PCC SEE was identified on many occasions in the past. Management of the significantly increased volume of such exchange at the level of national units has become a major challenge for the responsible services. In line with this, the workshop served as a platform for identifying the current state-of-play in the area of regional cross-border criminal info-exchange. The event was organised according to the strategic level priorities set in the Trio PCC SEE Chairmanship under the auspice of Hungarian Chairmanship-in-Office in co-organisation with the PCC SEE Secretariat, and took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia during 23-25 March 2015 with the financial support of the SPCP 2012-2016 and EC ISEC co-funded projects. Experts from PCC SEE region in the area of SPOC/ILECU and the central criminal unit responsible for the coordination/execution of the cross border cooperation activities were invited to the workshop, where they focused on identifying and discussing the needs and available tools in the region. Moreover, after getting familiarised with available tools and the “know-how” Europol can provide in this regard, they also discussed the findings and conclusions of the survey, prepared by the Hungarian Chairmanship-in-Office on the subject. Aimed at the overall improvement of the information flows in the region, the participants also discussed possible solutions of identified gaps and future steps to be taken, including the possible synergies of cooperation between Europol and PCC SEE Secretariat.