Western Balkans

Eurojust cooperation with the Western Balkans partners has been essential due to the number of shared operational connections. The EU Instrument of Pre-accession Assistance provides technical assistance to enhance judicial cooperation between the Western Balkans and the EU, for instance by providing financial support to their seconding Liaison Prosecutors to Eurojust through an external implementation partner, with which Eurojust cooperates closely. Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Albania have posted Liaison Prosecutors to Eurojust.

In December 2021, the Slovenian Presidency especially gave an opportunity for Eurojust to participate in the EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs, with discussions on countering serious crime, digitalisation of justice and judicial training.

Latin America

Eurojust has been intensely involved in the EU-funded project EL PAcCTO since its launch in 2017, and in 2021 these efforts yielded good results in the appointment of Contact Points from several countries in Latin America. Eurojust attended an online conference in March and a workshop in Lima in October, both organised by El PAcCTO, to discuss practical aspects of the collaboration with the partner countries, and possible ways of further intensifying the dialogue.

West Africa

In an online meeting held in October 2021 with UNODC support, Eurojust and the West African Network of Central Authorities and Prosecutors (WACAP) agreed to appoint Contact Points as a first step towards fostering mutual trust and dialogue.

The first contact made it possible to begin bilateral discussions with Nigerian authorities, and to consider inviting WACAP representatives to meetings of the Focus Group on Migrant Smuggling.

EuroMed Justice

EuroMed Justice brings together the most relevant stakeholders in the field of criminal justice, including representatives from the South Partner Countries, Eurojust, the European Judicial Network, EU Member States, as well as other relevant EU and international organisations. Eurojust has hosted the EuroMed Justice Programme since mid-2020, making 2021 the first full year since its implementation at Eurojust.

By February 2021, 14 Member States joined the programme and 10 became members of CrimEx. This helped enhance cooperation within the Mediterranean region, establishing direct communication and making effective links among judicial authorities.

Eurojust participated in the development of CrimEx analytical tools and the establishment of the EMJNet subgroups on cybercrime and migrants smuggling, and also provided guidance for the drafting of cross-regional strategies.

EMJNet – a network of Contact Points for operational cooperation

In October, to enable participating states to widen operational cooperation, CrimEx agreed to establish a network of active Contact Points, EMJNet. EMJNet is designed to support international judicial cooperation and to coordinate and strengthen direct contacts and operations between criminal justice authorities from SPCs and EU Member States. To facilitate the establishment and functioning of the EMJNet, a Directory of Contact Points was established.

3rd Forum of Prosecutors General and strategic documents

In November, during the 3rd Forum of Prosecutors General that took place at Eurojust, Prosecutors General of the EU Member States and South Partner Countries agreed on the first cross-regional Strategic Plan for judicial cooperation, to be implemented during 2022-2025.

The six strategic goals of the Strategic Plan are organised around two major cross-Mediterranean priority themes: countering trafficking in human beings and the smuggling of migrants, and the confiscation of crime proceeds and asset recovery.