The Police Chief in Tirana for "Pameca IV" project

The opening ceremony of the "PAMECA IV" project has taken place today in Tirana/Albania, in the presence of the Italian Police Chief Alessandro Pansa and the Deputy Police Chief Francesco Cirillo. The project is implemented by Italy in consortium with France and Austria, and is supported by Hungary and the United Kingdom. It will last 40 months starting from June 3, 2013.

"PAMECA IV" is organized into 5 activity areas: 1) structure, organisation, human resources, logistics and budgeting of the Albanian Police; 2) organized crime, serious crime and anti-corruption investigations 3) human rights and community policy; 4) traffic policing and patrolling; 5) integrated border management.

The project is designed to support key Albanian law enforcement agencies to bring their performance closer to EU standards, with a view to providing trust, safety and a secure environment to Albanian citizens, by enhancing the organisational, administrative, managerial and technical skills of the Albanian Police. The project will be carried out in coordination with the General Prosecutor's Office and the agencies and institutions concerned.

"Trafficking in human beings has registered an exponential growth: due to the huge profits it generates it is now the main business of criminal organisations along the so-called "Balkan route", said Police Chief Alessandro Pansa. "According to the data provided by Frontex - Mr Pansa continued - immigration flows along the Balkan route increased by 23% in the early months of 2013 compared to the same period of 2012". "Bearing this in mind - he added - border controls are crucial to combat illegal immigration and trafficking in human beings".

"Organised crime should not be considered as a criminal phenomenon to be tackled at local level. It is a transnational threat requiring constant joint efforts, which should be channelled also into enhancing the institutional and operational capacities of the Countries affected and implementing an integrated border management system."

To achieve the desired outcomes according to the guidelines set by the European Commission the project assigns a permanent pool of five Long Term Experts in Tirana.

A pool of Short term Experts will also be available to work either as trainers or perform specific activities within the scope of the action plan agreed with the European institutions.

Albany, along with the other Countries in the Balkan area, will be the beneficiary of the IPA 2013 Multi-beneficiary project, also led by Italy, which is still being developed.

Italian