The cooperation between Europol and the Western Balkan countries has significantly improved, but the picture is still mixed, Europol Executive Director Rob Wainwright said at the meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol (JPSG), in Sofia, Bulgaria. He said that around 800 individuals from Western Balkans fought on the side of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
“Mr. Tsvetanov mentioned why Europol places such an emphasis on the need to continuously improve the exchange of information. This is true because it is the basis of all our work. There are significant improvements in the cooperation between Europol and each of the countries of the Western Balkans and their law enforcement agencies, but the picture is still mixed. We have a very good exchange of information with some countries, but not so good with others,” Wainwright said. In his words, the general message from Europol is that their work has not yet been completed.
“We have not yet fully integrated our colleagues and friends from this region into the community of law enforcement agencies in Europe. So, from the point of view of parliamentary scrutiny, we need to understand that we must continue our efforts to constantly promote the best possible cooperation because it is crucial to our work,” he added.
