Italy-Austria Operational Meeting
Deputy Police Chief and Criminal Police Director Fulvio Della Rocca has received a delegation of the Austrian Criminal Police, led by General Franz Lang, at the invitation of the Chief of Police Alessandro Pansa, this morning in Rome.
The meeting focused on cooperation and information sharing on investigations between the two countries as regards prevention and suppression of crime.
The two delegations signed a protocol establishing a task force, which will be operational soon, and will include the Carabinieri and the Guardia di Finanza. The task force's mission is countering organized crime by increasing the exchange of information and data between the two countries. It is also tasked with promoting joint investigations in order to facilitate operational cooperation in combating crime syndicates.
Italy and Austria already established a productive collaboration through the Thorl-Magler Police and Customs Cooperation Centre, staffed with Italian, Austrian and Slovenian police officers.
The Police and Customs Cooperation Centres, established by the Schengen Agreement, are located on European land borders and consist of a "common room" where police forces of different countries work together for real-time police information exchange.