Eurojust concluded international agreements with North-Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania and, in March 2020, welcomed the arrival of the Liaison Prosecutor for Serbia, Ms Gordana Janicijevic. In December, the Albanian authorities appointed Ms Fatjona Memçaj, soon to be deployed as Liaison Prosecutor.
‘Joining forces with judicial authorities in the Western Balkans is of great strategic and operational importance for us. Criminals increasingly operate on a global scale and we need to make sure that cooperation between prosecutors and judges also extends beyond the borders of the European Union. Recently, we have witnessed how quickly organised crime groups adapted to the current COVID-19 crisis, but I am proud to conclude that not even a pandemic could stop us from achieving impressive operational results together with our partners in the Western Balkans.’
Ladislav Hamran, President of Eurojust, at the EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs, October 2020
In 2020, Western Balkan countries represented at Eurojust registered 137 new cases. Tangible results during 2020 included the successful cooperation between Albania and Italy, coordinated via Eurojust, which led to the arrest of 37 suspects allegedly involved in a drug smuggling network. The excellent results have been achieved thanks to a prolonged common investigation carried out by a joint investigation team (JIT) set up by Italy and Albania and strongly supported by Eurojust. In April, Serbia joined forces with Austria, Bulgaria and Germany to dismantle two organised crime groups (OCGs) suspected of large-scale investment fraud in cyber-trading. Just a few weeks after taking office, the new Liaison Prosecutor for Serbia at Eurojust was fully involved in this operation, enabling the arrest of six suspects and the seizure of EUR 2.5 million in criminal proceedings. In an operation in Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Serbia, coordinated by Eurojust and supported by Europol, the Hungarian authorities arrested two leaders of an OCG suspected of massive VAT fraud involving the sale of sugar and cooking oil imported from EU Member States.
Eurojust is a key partner in the implementation of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, which includes assistance for enhancing judicial cooperation to fight cross-border crime.
Eurojust is an agency of the European Union