08/06/2022
FIIAPP deepens international cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean with the launch of the Team Europe Justice and Security initiative
The Team initiative in the areas of justice and security for Latin America and the Caribbean was officially launched in the framework of the high-level meeting of Latin American and European criminal justice chain institutions. This meeting, held in Paris on 30 and 31 May, was organised by EL PAcCTO and the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The initiative, which brings together the projects co-led by the FIIAPP of EL PAcCTO, EUROFRONT, COPOLAD and EL PAcCTO: Support to Ameripol, responds to common challenges between the two continents. These programmes are key to this TEI (Team Europe Initiative) for its work in strengthening and building public systems where justice and security are key to their development and implementation.
The aim of the initiative is to build an effective partnership between the criminal justice institutions of both regions, at the political and operational level. It seeks to strengthen institutional cooperation between the EU, its Member States and Latin American and Caribbean countries by increasing exchanges between the justice and security institutions of both regions.
The FIIAPP mobilises each year more than 700 professionals from over 130 Spanish institutions to contribute with short and long-term missions to specific public policy challenges in demand with other countries. Justice and Interior professionals (in peace and development projects) are among the most mobilised. This is a cooperation based on the mobilisation of public sector specialists and the exchange of knowledge and experience with their counterparts, in line with the spirit of Team Europe.
The European initiative will work to strengthen justice and security institutions throughout the criminal justice chain, where inter-institutional coordination is a key pillar. International cooperation is essential to jointly address problems that affect Latin American society and that have an impact on the security of the European Union, given the high presence of violence and criminality.
The combined financial support from the European Union and Member States for the initiative will amount to a minimum of 144 million in grants. It will also include technical assistance from EU Member States to security and justice related institutions. As part of this package, the European Commission is almost doubling its support to the PacCTO to 52 million until 2027.
Jorge de la Caballería, head of the European Union’s unit responsible for development coordination in Latin America and the Caribbean, pointed out that PAcCTO is a flagship programme, as “it has allowed for the exchange of very good practices, but it has also generated alliances. There are not many European programmes and European cooperation programmes that allow us to respond jointly to global challenges with a clear impact, as PAcCTO has done.
This programme seeks to contribute to security and justice in Latin America by supporting the fight against transnational organised crime, addressing the entire criminal chain from an integral perspective through its work in three components: police, justice and penitentiary.
For its part, COPOLAD accompanies countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to develop and implement justice and security policies in the territory in the face of the challenge of drugs, addressing the prevention and control of the illicit trafficking of drugs and narcotics with the aim of improving people’s lives.
EUROFRONT is another of the programmes aligned with this initiative, as it promotes and develops border management mechanisms that facilitate human mobility under the precepts of security and respect for human rights.
On the other hand, EL PAcCTO: Support to Ameripol project works to improve the level of international cooperation between the police, judicial and prosecutorial authorities of the partner countries in the fight against organised crime.
Team Europe includes, in addition to Spain, Germany, Estonia, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal, as well as the specialised agencies EUROPOL, EUROJUST, CEPOL, FRONTEX and OEDT.
Together we strengthen the institutional environment and the rule of law, regional partnerships, national structures and cooperation throughout the criminal chain in the fight against transnational organised crime, promoting citizen security and combining policies and expertise to address shared challenges.
