Brussels, 28/11/2003 (Agence Europe) - The meeting between ministers from the member states, the acceding and the candidates countries, and the five Balkan countries, on Friday, only led to the adoption of very general conclusions on the importance of police and judicial cooperation against organised crime and illegal immigration. No specific data on the extent of these phenomenons in the region or in each of the countries was presented on Friday. Dedicating nearly the entire final press conference of the JHA Council to the arrest of the presumed Islamic terrorists in Italy, the acting President of the Council, Giuseppe Pisanu, did not even mention the results of the meeting with the Balkan countries, while this was one of the priorities set out by the Italian Presidency.
In the conclusions, the European and Balkan Ministers underline that more progress in the field of justice and home affairs by the countries of the Western Balkans would bring their European prospects closer to success. The conclusions invite the countries of the Western Balkans (Croatia, Serbia-Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and Albania) to conclude cooperation agreements with Europol. During the meeting, one of the only critical remarks came from the Director of the European Police Office, who deplored the fact that information exchanges with the Balkan countries do not function properly, indicated one observer. Each of the Balkan countries presented a programme to fight against organised crime. The meeting had been prepared by a lunch on Thursday between ministers from the JHA Council and the European Union High Representative for Foreign Policy, Javier Solana.