Seminar
"EU Conflict Prevention:
Lessons Learned from the W. Balkans"

Athens, 4 - 7 May 2003

A seminar organized by the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs
under the aegis of the Greek Presidency of the EU
and in cooperation with
the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy
and the ADB/ the Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in SEE.

Conclusions from Working Group II
ORGANISED CRIME AND CROSS-BORDER TRAFFICKING
IN SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE

I Throughout the 1990s, the International Community (IC) was somehow slow to react to the growth of organised crime, corruption and cross-border trafficking, as other priorities, i.e. conflict resolution or democratisation agendas, appeared more important. Thus, organised crime was allowed to establish itself and take root in the region. Combating organised crime is emerging as an urgent priority, because organised crime:

• Undermines the national government's ability to govern effectively,

• Creates huge obstacles to generate revenue from customs on goods. Levying tax on goods crossing the borders may or may not be an effective way of generating state revenue, since border controls are so ineffective and huge investment is possibly needed while potential returns may be scarce. We also discussed whether some commodities may be de-criminalized (such as cigarette smuggling), so that law enforcement agencies can concentrate on fighting more serious crime, i.e. drugs.

• Threatens the EU, less so the US. However, the US has emerged as the power most concerned with the issue and took some practical steps to tackle the problem, such as establishment of the SECI Center on Combating Transborder crime.

Organised crime flourishes in the conditions of weak economies of SEE, massive unemployment and poor economic growth. The governments are forced to rely on smuggling to keep the economy going and people busy, since they cannot create legitimate jobs. This is further facilitated by attitudes to smuggling: as final destination of much of the criminal goods is Western Europe, local people do not feel that trafficking affects their lives and their societies, and increases tolerance to crime which is seemingly nothing to do with their own existence.

II What are the effective ways to fight OC?

Action is most needed at the national, rather than regional level. Capacity of national police forces and other law enforcement agencies, i.e. intelligence services, needs to be vastly improved. However, there is a dilemma for the EU: while many countries may have some spare capacity in their armed forces which they can delegate to assist SEE, this is not the case in the police force, where all officers are mostly needed at home and governments are extremely reluctant to have them sent abroad. But it is vital to proceed with the reform of police and justice systems and create a sense of local ownership of such reforms in the region.

Regional cooperation is also important. The work of the SECI Center on the whole is regarded positively, but currently the US feels that it is the time for the EU to take over the American role in the Center, since OC primarily affects the Europeans. We noted that regional cooperation in Djindjic assassination worked well.

Action on such technical issues, however, is not enough. Courageous and committed leadership are required to take the lead in fighting OC and set the example. Zoran Djidjic was one such leader, and paid with his life for challenging OC in his country.

There is a need of more effective exchange of information between police and intelligence agencies across the region and with their EU counterparts. At the same time, there should be guarantees that confidential data will be protected and national agencies in SEE can be trusted by their EU counterparts to avoid leaks to criminals.

Border controls and physical borders should be strengthened, but there is a dilemma, since the EU is also sending a message that these borders would be dismantled in future. Moreover, closing borders may negatively affect conflict prevention agenda.

Politization of border management issues should be avoided, as border management gatherings (one is organised by NATO/EU/OSCE/SP in May 2003 in Ohrid) can easily turn into border demarcation disputes.

EU should explore whether some commodities may be de-criminalized to put the fight against OC on more realistic ground.

III What the IC should do in future?

• Mobilise the region to fight OC and to increase priority of OC;

• Conduct a proper assessment of the situation regarding OC in the region and share intelligence with their SEE colleagues;

• Stop providing legitimacy to politicians widely known to be involved in OC in the region, Western leaders should not publicly appear in the company of leaders known to be connected to crime;

• EU should create a list of benchmarks for fighting OC and make transparent each country's progress against these benchmarks;

• Relax Schengen regulations - they do not create problems for criminals, but for ordinary people;

• Adopt measures towards harmonisation of judicial systems across the region, especially regarding victims' testimony and presentation of evidence in courts;

• Victim protection schemes should be designed and applied in the whole region, as these countries are small and witnesses can be easily traced and victimised;

• Involve civil society in fighting OC, enhance public awareness campaigns to educate public on the ill-effects of OC.