EuroMed Justice project

The EuroMed Justice project aims to develop sustainable cooperation mechanisms for cross-border judicial cooperation in criminal matters between EU Member States and South Partner Countries (SPCs): Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine[1] and Tunisia. The project entered its sixth phase in 2024, focusing particularly on strengthening operational cooperation between SPCs, EU Member States and Eurojust, including the practitioners’ networks that the Agency supports.

In 2024, the EuroMed Justice project hosted 18 operational meetings and organised multiple capacity-building activities. In May 2024, the 19th EuroMed Justice Expert Group in Criminal Matters (CrimEx) and 3rd EuroMed Justice Network (EMJNet) meetings focused on identifying common challenges and responses to strengthen international judicial cooperation in criminal matters. In October 2024, the 4th EMJNet meeting allowed participants to share knowledge and exchange best practices on international judicial cooperation related to the different stages of asset recovery.                  

In December 2024, the 20th CrimEx meeting addressed the technical and strategic aspects of international judicial cooperation. The events hosted by Eurojust also provided the opportunity for eight bilateral meetings between SPCs and representatives of the Eurojust National Desks, aimed at enhancing operational cooperation.

The project also supported the organisation of two technical meetings related to the conclusion of international agreements on cooperation with Eurojust for Lebanon and Algeria, in March and December 2024, respectively. These meetings enabled both countries to understand the requirements for concluding international agreements, in particular in relation to data protection. Participants were introduced to the work of Eurojust’s Liaison Prosecutors and the National Desks, the life cycle of Eurojust cases and the operational support provided by the Agency, including that of the JIT’s Network Secretariat.

Over the past five years, Eurojust cases involving SPCs have mainly concerned swindling and fraud, money laundering and organised crime. In 2024, Israel was the SPC that participated in the highest number of coordination meetings and coordination centres.

Western Balkans Criminal Justice project

The Western Balkans Criminal Justice project aims to strengthen judicial cooperation within the Western Balkans as well as between the region and the EU in the fight against organised crime and terrorism. The participating countries are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo[2], North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

During 2024, the project received an increased number of requests for operational support from the Western Balkan judicial authorities, and supported 25 cross-border investigations related to drug trafficking, money laundering, money counterfeiting, corruption and firearms trafficking. Three new JITs between Western Balkan judicial authorities were signed and supported by the project. This support included the organisation of two action days, which led to the arrest of a dozen suspects and the seizure of weapons and counterfeit money.

The project organised five outreach events at the country level, the first meeting of the Consultative Forum of General and Special Chief Prosecutors of the Western Balkans, and a number of thematic regional events. These included a peer-to-peer meeting on Sky ECC with the French and Belgian Desks at Eurojust, and a regional workshop on the cumulative prosecution of foreign terrorist fighters with the Genocide Network Secretariat.

The project also conducted, in partnership with the Academy of European Law and the JITs Network Secretariat, two new training workshops for Western Balkan practitioners in the Netherlands and Germany on JITs and judicial cooperation for young or newly appointed judges and prosecutors, attended by more than 300 participants. Throughout 2024, the project continued to support the participation of Western Balkan countries in the activities of the Networks (EJN, EJCN) and Focus Groups (Migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings) hosted by Eurojust.

Over the past five years, Eurojust cases involving Western Balkan countries have mainly been related to drug trafficking, organised crime and money laundering. Serbia was the Western Balkan country that participated in the highest number of coordination meetings and coordination centres supported by Eurojust in 2024, while Albania participated in the highest number of JITs.