BELGRADE, January 17. /ITAR-TASS/. Serbia and the European police service or Europol have struck an information sharing agreement which also provides for joint actions against organized crime. Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and Europol Director Rob Wainwright signed the document in Belgrade on January 16.
Wainwright praised Serbia for joining a family of European nations that wanted to fight organized crime in a more effective way. From now on, it will take part in the work of a European police service responsible for fighting against organized crime and terrorism in the European Union. Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said, in turn, that Serbia would send its police officer to the Europol’s headquarters in The Hague to maintain constant communication with European colleagues. The Serbian prime minister noted that the signing of the agreement with Europol was extremely important for Serbia, especially ahead of its entrance talks with the European Union due to start soon.
“Serbia has achieved noticeable results in its anti-organized crime and anti-corruption efforts. It has also made progress in its dialogue with Pristina. Those were two big positive signs for Brussels and the key reason for passing a positive decision on the start of talks with Serbia on entering the European Union,” Dacic emphasized.
Europol coordinates the work of police services in the 28 EU member states. The organization’s main task is to coordinate the efforts of the national services in the EU countries to fight organized crime and improve information exchanges among the national police bodies. Europol considers illegal migration, drugs trafficking, cybercrime and money laundering to be priorities in fighting organized crime in the European Union.