Brussels, 22/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in Algeciras (Cadiz, Spain) on Sunday 20 September, senior police officials from the countries of the Western Mediterranean signed a cooperation agreement on fighting crime, organised terrorism, cybercrime and people trafficking, a press release from the Spanish ministry of the interior states.
In addition to Spain, the countries involved are Algeria, France, Italy, Morocco, Mauritania, Portugal and Tunisia. Representatives from Interpol; the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the European border agency (FRONTEX) attended the meeting.
The signatories of the agreement commit to coordinating and working to prevent the emergence of foreign fighters, and to exchanging information on their movements, their itineraries and their methods of working. “Joint targeted patrols” will be organised, particularly against people trafficking, through “the identification and repatriation of those who illegally enter” the countries involved in the agreement. Exchanges for training will be scheduled, and the EU institutions will take part.
The press release says that the heads of police stated their intention to foster the exchange of experience between specialised units, and to commit to specific projects on training and strengthening cooperation as regards international institutions, such as the cooperation within Interpol.
It was agreed that an annual meeting of heads of police should be held. (Original version in French by Fathi B'Chir)