On Wednesday 10 July, the European Union Agency for Judicial Cooperation, Eurojust, announced the signing of Working Arrangements (cooperation agreements) with the prosecution services of Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru.
These agreements aim to strengthen the fight against global organised crime by making the response to transnational criminal networks more effective.
And for good reason: according to Europol, 68% of the largest criminal networks operate on a global scale, with 36% involved in drug trafficking and 32% laundering their illicit proceeds in the EU and abroad.
Eurojust is working in particular to dismantle drug transport routes to the EU via its ports.
In 2023, thanks to Eurojust’s support, €25.6 billion worth of drugs were seized, more than double the figure for the previous year. The public prosecutors of the five countries have committed to implementing these agreements with the support of the EL PACCTO 2.0 programme, an EU initiative aimed at strengthening the EU-LAC partnership to combat transnational organised crime.
They will also be working to conclude international agreements with Eurojust as the next step in cooperation.
To see the Arrangements: https://aeur.eu/f/d0x (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)