Commission Report (2002): Latvia

Subsections

• Progress since the last Regular Report
• Overall assessment
• Conclusions

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Chapter 24: co-operation in the field of justice and home affairs

Progress since the last Regular Report

During the reporting period, Latvia continued to align its legislation with the acquis, especially as regards visa policy and asylum. Institutions concerned with the area of external borders, visa and migration, money laundering and other forms of economic crime have been strengthened. However, less progress was made in the fight against drugs and trafficking in general and in co-operation between the various agencies involved in JHA.

As regards data protection, the 1981 Convention of the Council of Europe on the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data entered into force in September 2001. Progress was made on personal data protection, where improvements were made regarding the further strengthening of the administrative capacity of the State Data Inspectorate (see chapter 3 -- freedom to provide services).

As far as visa policy is concerned, progress was made in amending the regulation concerning visa issuing, i.e. extending the uniform visa and limiting the issuing of new visas. Amendments in force since May 2002 require transit visas for transit train passengers. Since the last Regular Report, agreements on a visa-free regime have been concluded with Monaco, Panama and Romania. At present, a mutual visa-free regime has been established with 16 states, and with two states a visa-free regime is applied unilaterally.

As regards administrative capacity, the development of the Unified Visa Information System (UVIS) has continued and implementation of the Invitation Database and Entry Prohibition Database continued. Since September 2001, twelve border crossings on future external borders were connected to UVIS, and at present 38 out of 42 external border crossings have an on-line connection. Training on visa issues, including the newly created UVIS databases, has been conducted for all institutions involved.

Strengthening of external borders has continued through the implementation of the State Border Guard Development Concept 2001 -- 2005. The main focus has been on the adoption of supplementary legislation to improve border control.

Regarding the establishment of an integrated border management system, several agreements were signed between the various institutions involved such as the State Border Guard and the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs as well as the Sanitary Border Inspectorate and the National Customs Board. The responsibility of the Border Guard was extended to the entire border and a Sea Border Guard Service was established.

Over the reporting period, strengthening of the state border continued at sea borders as well as the eastern border, including the green border. During the reporting period, secondary legislation was adopted in order to improve the effectiveness of border control. For 2002, the budget was increased, and three border crossing points and seven surveillance towers were built and modern equipment such as video surveillance systems and radiation control equipment was installed. Progress was also made in enhancing capacity to detect forged documents and to prepare for the participation in the False and Authentic Document (FADO) system, in connection with which a regulation was adopted in May 2002 and checking devices for detecting forgeries were provided to border crossings.

The electronic border control information system REIS-1999 is now operating on-line at all ports, providing also on-line connection to UVIS. The State Border Guard Information System (RAIS) continues to be implemented.

As regards administrative capacity, measures have been taken to strengthen the effectiveness of the Border Guard by increasing its budget as well as salaries. The establishment in April 2002 of the State Border Guard College based on a policy document for professional personnel training in the period 2001--2005 was a positive step. Training continued at the Rezekne Border Guard School. Other training activities focused on technical surveillance systems, border guard management, radiation control, falsified documents and foreign languages.

co-operation among the bodies involved in border controls was also strengthened, especially in relation to the detection and identification of narcotic substances. The Border Guard and Customs have extended their co-operation on common information systems and use of unified technologies.

Latvia is making progress in aligning itself with the Schengen EUR EU requirements and continues to prepare for future participation in the Schengen Information System (SIS II). The Government has established a very thorough Schengen Action Plan in this respect, which was revised in October 2001. The Information Centre, the Department of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, the State Border Guard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State Revenue Service are involved in the setting up of the SIRENE bureau and preparation for the National Schengen Information System. The development of information technology infrastructure and national registers continued.

As regards migration, steps for further alignment have been taken, but no new legislation has been adopted. In order to improve the efficiency of combating illegal immigration, in January 2002, the Immigration Service was established within the State Border Guard, mainly dealing with the identification, interviewing and extradition of illegal immigrants. The Service consists of the Immigration Board, regional units in every regional border guard board and the Olaine Detention Centre.

co-operation with the other competent institution in the area of migration, the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, was intensified, including the establishment of access to a common database. A co-operation agreement with the Russian Federation was signed in August 2002.

In May 2002, the Law on Identity Cards and Passports, which defines the types, content and usage of ID cards and passports, was adopted. The new passport system will include citizens' and non-citizens' passports, diplomatic and service passports, as well as stateless persons' travel documents. All these documents will serve as travel documents and will be elaborated in accordance with the demands stipulated in the resolution of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) of 1999 and the Council Resolution of 17 October 2000 as regards passport contents, structure and security.

During the reporting period, training was continued concerning issues such as illegal migration, the rights of migrants, employment and self-employed persons, the role of border control in fighting terrorism, family reunification, implementation of Schengen / EU requirements in the area of migration and visas, and migration and asylum policy in the Baltic States.

In the field of asylum, significant progress was made in adopting the Law on Asylum in March 2002 which addresses the shortcomings of the previous legislation in terms of refugee status and the granting of subsidiary and temporary protection. The Law also addresses issues such as non-refoulement, safe third countries, family reunification, minimum guarantees for asylum procedures, detention of asylum seekers and repeated asylum applications, as well as providing for longer deadlines in case of the accelerated procedure.

In order to accelerate administrative procedures, the institutional structure was streamlined in early 2002. The State Border Guard is now responsible for interviewing asylum seekers and the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs considers cases and makes decisions on the granting or refusal of refugee status. A working group established in March 2002 within the Ministry of the Interior is designing strategies to improve the co-operation between institutions involved in the asylum process. co-operation at international level has increased. In order to strengthen administrative capacity, training has been increased regarding the new legislation in place.

In 2001, 11 persons applied for asylum and one of them was granted refugee status. The number of asylum seekers was thus reduced significantly compared to 2000 (87 persons).

In the field of police co-operation and the fight against organised crime, progress was made in terms of further alignment in the field of organised crime and trafficking as well as on strengthening the administrative capacity of the police. Amendments to the Criminal Law, which aims at aligning Latvian legislation with regard to trafficking in human beings and organised criminal groups, entered into force in April 2002. In June 2002, an intergovernmental agreement between Latvia and Uzbekistan on co-operation in fighting terrorism, organised crime and drug trafficking was concluded.

In view of the conclusion of a co-operation agreement with Europol, in April 2002, a specialized attaché of the Ministry of the Interior was posted to The Hague to act as a liaison officer when the agreement is concluded. During the reporting period co-operation agreements on police co-operation were signed with Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Georgia, the Russian Federation and Slovakia.

As regards administrative capacity, funding from the state budget increased to EUR 337 621 for 2002 and police salaries were increased by 11%. In order to increase efficiency of the police structures, reorganisation has continued. The Economic Police Bureau has been reorganized, particularly with respect to strengthening the fight against smuggling, money laundering, counterfeiting and product piracy. To fight against the smuggling of goods, the National Customs Board is increasingly applying risk-analysis as well as different information systems. Latvia has also streamlined its structure in order to increase the efficiency and co-ordination of state anti-crime policy.

As regards the fight against terrorism, in December 2001 Latvia signed the 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.

As far as the fight against fraud and corruption is concerned (see also Section B.1.1 Democracy and the rule of law -- anti-corruption measures), the renewed Corruption Prevention Programme (adopted in May 2001) has been further implemented. Several new legislative instruments have been developed. Amendments to the Criminal Law were made in order to implement the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, and entered into force in April 2002. Latvia is continuing preparation for full co-operation with OLAF upon accession.

In order to create an effective implementing capacity and improved inter-institutional co-operation, the anti-Corruption and Combating Bureau is being established following the adoption of the Law on the anti-Corruption Bureau in July 2002. A series of seminars concerning the investigation of corruption cases have been held for judges, prosecutors, policemen and representatives of the mass media.

In the field of drugs, no new legislative developments can be reported, but implementation of the National Strategy for Drug Control and Drug Abuse Prevention 1999--2003 continued. Preparations for participation in EMCDDA (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction) and Reitox have commenced and the necessary legal and institutional framework for the National Focal Point (NFP) is being developed. co-operation between institutions has been further strengthened. Particular attention is being paid to reducing the number of drug users and drug-related crime.

In order to strengthen the capacity of institutions dealing with drug prevention and combating issues, training activities have continued on issues such as investigation of drug crimes, smuggling of drugs, precursor control and gathering of evidence. 279 border guards have been trained in detecting risk groups and in identifying narcotic substances.

Regular information exchange and co-operation between the Drug Enforcement Bureau and the State Border Guard as well as other bodies concerned has been intensified in order to prevent use, illicit trafficking and smuggling of drugs. In 2001, the Drug Enforcement Bureau detected 134 more drug-related crimes than in 2000 and drug detection on the border has also increased somewhat.

As regards money laundering (see also Chapter 4 -- Free movement of capital), legislative alignment has continued and the capacity of the institutions has been strengthened. In June 2002, amendments to the Law on Prevention of Laundering of the Proceeds Derived from Crime, providing, inter alia, for the freezing of financial transactions linked to terrorism, were adopted.

The administrative capacity was strengthened through the establishment of specialised divisions dealing with money laundering issues in the Economic Police Bureau (7 staff positions) as well as in the Financial Police of the State Revenue Service (4 staff positions). In order to strengthen the capacity of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), additional resources are budgeted for 2003 to finance an increase in human resources (6 more staff) as well as for information technology systems. Training organised by the FIU for financial institutions and law enforcement bodies has continued.

The number of cases forwarded by the FIU for further investigation has increased compared to previous years (59 cases in 2001).

With regard to customs co-operation, several Memoranda of Understanding between Customs and other Latvian institutions and businesses have been agreed and co-operation agreements with 14 countries have been concluded. Preparations for joining the Naples II Convention on Mutual Assistance and co-operation between Customs Administrations have commenced.

As concerns judicial co-operation in criminal and civil matters, Latvia has made further progress in aligning in the field of criminal matters. Amendments to the Criminal Procedural Code aimed at aligning with EU requirements on such issues as extradition and sentenced persons entered into force in June 2002. The 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction entered into force in February 2002 and the 1980 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions Concerning Custody of Children has been ratified, and entered into force in August 2002. In the first quarter of 2002, there were 198 incoming requests and 99 outgoing requests for legal assistance. During the reporting period a manual for international legal co-operation for judges as well as a National Action Plan were prepared. Training of judges and court staff on legal co-operation has continued.

Overall assessment

As regards data protection, EC requirements in this field have been largely implemented. The 1981 Convention of the Council of Europe on the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data entered into force in September 2001. In order to improve national legislation on personal data protection, including its extension to the police sector, and the independence of the State Data Inspectorate further legislation needs to be adopted. Despite recent positive developments, further strengthening of the Inspectorate in terms of staff and resources appears nonetheless necessary. In addition, Latvia needs to ensure effective implementation of Recommendation No R (87) of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (police data) as well the relevant provisions of the Europol and Schengen acquis, including designation of a national data protection supervision authority of the Schengen Information System in due time.

Latvia has continued to advance on visa policy, and its legislation is now broadly in line with the acquis. It is now essential to adopt all the necessary provisions and to put in place the necessary structures in advance of accession in order to ensure effective implementation upon accession of the new visa acquis. While Latvia has further extended the visa-free regime to several countries, this alignment needs to be completed. The adoption of the envisaged new Law on Immigration together with implementing regulations and instruction will be essential to address the remaining shortcomings in this field.

While progress was made regarding the uniform format for visas in line with the acquis, Latvia should continue efforts to align with the rules of the Common Consular Instructions and to ensure proper functioning of the visa-issuing procedures, administrative management and organisation. Enhanced co-operation between the different authorities dealing with visa issues should be promoted further. The development of the on-line Unified Visa Information System (UVIS) is on track. Its extension to all border checkpoints and diplomatic and consular institutions needs now to be ensured.

As regards external borders, strengthening of border controls remains a priority for Latvia. Despite continued efforts in this field in terms of legislation, training and equipment, an integrated border control approach, integrating the numerous services involved, is still in its infancy. It will therefore be of utmost importance to continue developing the ``Integrated Border Control System` and to implement the State Border Guard Development Concept 2001--2005. It is essential that the State Border Guard can ensure effective control for the entire border, including the sea border. The newly created Sea Border Guard should take full responsibility for ensuring that this objective regarding the sea border is achieved. The establishment of the integrated sea surveillance system should be completed.

Encouraging measures have also been taken with regard to improved equipment, salaries and training. Whereas co-operation among bodies involved in border controls has been addressed through agreements, further efforts are necessary to achieve an integrated management approach, including co-ordinated and consolidated structures and a common unified border-check procedure. This essential component of an integrated control system should help Latvia to achieve more effective results.

The equipment of Latvia`s border crossings with technical devices for the detection of falsified and counterfeit documents has advanced well. The preparation for Latvia`s future participation in the envisaged False and Authentic Documents (FADO) system should be continued. Equally important is the full implementation of the State Border Guard electronic information system (RAIS) as well as the on-line system border control information system (REIS).

On the basis of the existing high-quality Schengen Action Plan, implementation should continue. In order to prepare for the future participation in the Schengen Information System, the required information technology infrastructure and national registers need to be developed. The preparatory work started on the establishment of the National Schengen Information System and the SIRENE bureau should be continued.

Latvia should also continue efforts to sign a new agreement with the Russian Federation on mutual travelling of citizens and the fostering of practical co-operation. Legislation on migration is broadly in line with the acquis, but further alignment is still necessary. Latvia needs to adopt and implement the Administrative Violations Code as well as the outstanding Law on Immigration, which should address the remaining shortcomings, including on carrier liability and entry and stay of third-country nationals.

The establishment of the Immigration Service at the State Border Guard is considered to be a positive step, but co-operation between all bodies responsible for migration requires continued improvements. Training for staff of these institutions should also continue on such issues as EURODAC, family reunification priniciples, accelerated procedure, detention and appeal and recognition of travel documents.

Readmission agreements have now been concluded with Austria, Benelux, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and Romania. Latvia is encouraged to ratify its outstanding readmission agreements and sign further agreements with Member States, candidate countries and third countries such as Belarus and the Russian Federation.

Regarding implementation, during 2001 the number of expelled persons was 238. During the first three months of 2002, 36 persons were expelled. In mid-2002, there were 44 people in the illegal immigrant detention centre in Olaine. The number of expelled persons has remained at the same level over the past years. In general, illegal immigration does not seem to be a particular problem in Latvia at present, but capacity to fight illegal immigration should be further increased and the activities initiated should be continued. The planned separation of convicted criminals from expelled and illegal migrants at the detention centres needs to be implemented and training for the officials of the Immigration Service and the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs should be further enhanced, including training on organised illegal trafficking. The establishment of a temporary residence centre for illegal migrants and asylum seekers in Daugavpils for the accommodation of approximately 80 persons should continue. Data exchange with other systems such as UVIS and the RAIS should be improved.

In the field of asylum, legislation has been brought further in line with the acquis through the adoption of the Law on Asylum. Implementation of the new legislation, including issuing and registering residence permits to refugees and persons granted alternative status and respecting in all situations the principle of non-refoulement, will be essential. Moreover, particular attention needs to be paid to the adequate implementation of the accelerated procedure and the ``third country notion` as well as to minimum guarantees for appeal.

As regards the administrative capacity, measures taken largely correspond with the needs identified in this field. Despite the low number of asylum seekers in Latvia, particular attention should continue to be paid to improving co-operation between the various institutions involved. Latvia should now prepare for ratification of the criteria and mechanisms for determining the responsible member state (Dublin Convention) including provisions on databases, fingerprinting and data protection and the establishment of the EURODAC Regulation. The development of the Common Information System for Migration and Asylum Issues is equally important. Altogether, 8 persons have been granted refugee status since 1998.

Regarding police co-operation and the fight against organised crime, Latvia has advanced in terms of acceding to the relevant international regulatory instruments and establishing a legal basis for co-operation in the fight against organised crime including the restructuring and upgrading of institutions to address new forms of crime more effectively. However, further legislative alignment is necessary. Latvia should adopt further amendments to the criminal law to align with the provisions of the 2000 UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (Palermo Convention), and sign and ratifiy the third additional Protocol to this Convention on firearms; and to align with the provisions the UN Cybercrime Convention, and the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of Proceeds from Crime. Latvia also needs to complete accession to the Protocol against trafficking in human beings and to the Protocol against smuggling of migrants by land, sea and air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Moreover, the UN Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and other relevant international instruments need to be ratified. Latvia should also sign and ratify the Second Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters of 8 November 2001.

Latvia should continue efforts to align as soon as possible with the acquis and other international standards on the fight against the misuse of the financial system, in particular money laundering and terrorism financing. Latvia needs to adopt amendments to the Personal Data Protection Law in order to ensure that all prerequisites for the signature of the co-operation agreement with EUROPOL are completed.

As regards implementation, particular progress has been made in restructuring and strengthening the police, but Latvia needs to step up means to allow police forces to combat more effectively specific forms of organised crime, such as trafficking in human beings and trafficking in drugs, and new types of crime, such as financial crime, money laundering and ``high-tech'' crime. This requires an enhanced flow of information between institutions working in the field of law enforcement, including prosecutors and the judiciary, as well as the large-scale availability of computer-assisted search facilities, and continued training on the fight against specific types of crime. Further work is also necessary to develop reliable national statistical instruments for measuring crime rates as well as new methods of crime investigation, including development of forensic investigation. The administrative capacity of the State Police, particularly the Bureau for Combating Organised Crime and Corruption, should be increased.

Regarding the fight against fraud and corruption, good progress has been made in terms of legislative alignment, and the institutional framework has now been put in place. Latvia has largely implemented its Corruption Prevention Programme and important legislation on procurement, prevention of conflict of interest of officials and party financing has been adopted. Its full implementation should now become a priority for Latvia. The administrative capacity of the newly established anti-Corruption Bureau should be further increased and its independence strengthened in order to ensure effective implementation and improved inter-institutional co-operation on the anti-corruption policy. Latvia should pay more attention to the fact that prevention through transparency and accountability standards is as important as repressive tools.

Latvia should also enhance preparations with a view to ratifying the 1995 Convention on the Protection of the EC`s Financial Interests and its Protocols, including with regard to the criminal offence of corruption for EU officials, and adopt amendments to the Criminal Code in order to fully align with the provisions of this Convention, in particular with the elements of the definition of fraud, the criminal liability of heads of business and the liability of legal persons.

Latvia is party to the main international conventions listed under the acquis in the field of drugs, but still needs to complete preparations for accession to the 1995 Council of Europe Agreement on Illicit Traffic by Sea, implementing Article 17 of the UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. While implementation of its National Strategy for Drug Control and Drug Abuse Prevention 1999--2003 has continued, work on a revised strategy, in line with the EU Drugs Strategy 2000--2004, and on an Action Plan for 2002--2006 should be completed.

While Latvia has taken a number of steps to strengthen the capacity of institutions dealing with drug prevention and combating issues, including training and improved information exchange, both drug-related crime and the increasing numbers of drug users still remain a significant problem. Whereas registered drug related crimes decreased from 495 to 323 in the first half of 2002 compared to the same period in 2001 and also the number of persons prosecuted fell significantly, seizures of drugs by the police increased. Despite reinforced border controls by drug experts, the detection rate remains relatively low and no clear supply reduction strategy has been designed. Latvia particularly needs to increase its capacity to fight drug trafficking by strengthening the administrative capacity of its law enforcement services, especially the police, customs and border guards and the Drug Enforcement Bureau, and improving their co-operation. Training of officials should continue, particularly regarding risk analyses, controls of drugs and precursors, pre-arrival controls and use of related information systems. Further work is necessary to prepare Latvia for integration in the common European Information Network (Reitox) and to ensure full participation in the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). The necessary legal and institutional framework for the National Focal Point of the Drug Information System should be completed and the capacity of National Focal Point be further strengthened. co-operation with Member States and with Europol should be intensified.

As regards money laundering, legislative alignment needs to be completed and its enforcement should be further improved. Latvia should adopt the respective amendments to the Law on the Prevention of the Laundering of Proceeds from Crime in line with the acquis and ensure its implementation. Despite the strengthened administrative capacity of the services involved in this field, and a clear increase in the number of investigations and of launched criminal cases (37 in total), the current control and repression of fiscal fraud, bankruptcy, money laundering, corruption and common economic crimes still need significant improvement. Further strengthening of the human and financial resources of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) as well as the other specialised bodies acting in this field remains necessary. Training activities for the FIU, economic police, prosecutors, customs officials, bank managers and employees should be further enhanced.

With regard to customs co-operation, Latvia`s legislation is now largely in line with the acquis in this field as a number of Memoranda of Understanding between customs and other institutions as well as co-operation agreements have been concluded. The fight against corruption has been addressed through a number of measures, but still remains a problem. The application of risk-analysis concepts has started. Generally, co-operation between customs and the police, the border guards and the FIU has improved through access to customs information, but the process should be intensified in terms of an integrated database and further inter-agency co-operation and regular forms of co-operation with business organisations. Customs should enhance training to increase their capacity to deal with special investigation techniques such as controlled deliveries, drug search, cross-border surveillance, hot pursuit and joint special investigation teams.

Latvia should continue its co-operation on and prepare for accession to and implementation of the Naples II Convention on Mutual Assistance and co-operation between Customs Administrations upon accession as well as the CIS Convention on Use of Information Technology for Customs Purposes.

As far as judicial co-operation in criminal and civil matters is concerned, Latvia has ratified almost all the international conventions included in the acquis. Latvia still has to ratify the European Convention on the International Validity of Criminal Judgements. Latvia has joined all the relevant Conventions of the Council of Europe with the exception of the Convention on Cybercrime. It has signed bilateral agreements on judicial co-operation with several countries. Latvia should take further measures to ensure implementation of the Community instruments in the area of judicial co-operation in civil matters, notably as regards mutual recognition and enforcement of judicial decisions. Direct contacts between competent judicial authorities should be made possible.

Latvia should also take steps to ensure full implementation upon accession of recently adopted instruments concerning judicial co-operation in criminal matters, such as the Framework Decision on the European arrest warrant and execution of orders freezing property or evidence. Latvia still needs to adopt and implement the new Criminal Procedure Code as well as the Law on Criminal Procedure, which will allow the implementation of the above-mentioned conventions on judicial co-operation in criminal matters as well as the new Civil Procedure Code. The administrative capacity of the department of the Ministry of Justice responsible for judicial co-operation needs to be further strengthened and the number of staff at the Prosecutor-General`s Office as well as the technical equipment to be further reinforced. In view of the further increase in incoming and outgoing requests, further training, including in foreign languages, remains necessary.

All the human rights legal instruments which are part of the Justice and Home Affairs acquis have been ratified by Latvia.

Conclusions

In its 1997 Opinion, the Commission concluded that Latvia was starting from a low base in the JHA field and was facing considerable institutional problems in preparing itself for effective co-operation with EU JHA institutions. The Commission added that a major, sustained effort was required if Latvia was to have the possibility of meeting the Justice and Home Affairs acquis (present and future) in the medium term.

Since the Opinion, progress has been made, with significant progress being made in particular over the last two years, especially in terms of legal alignment. Latvia has also continued strengthening of the institutional capacity in this field. As most legislative shortcomings have been addressed, efforts are now needed in particular to further enhance the implementation and enforcement capacity.

Negotiations on this chapter have been provisionally closed. Latvia has not requested any transitional arrangements in this area. Latvia is generally meeting the commitments it has made in the accession negotiations in this field.

In order to complete preparations for membership, Latvia`s efforts now need to focus on finalising alignment (migration, money laundering, and protection of the financial interests of the European Communities, judicial co-operation), continued strengthening of border controls and further reinforcing the law enforcement agencies, with particular attention given to the fight against drugs and trafficking in general and co-operation between the various bodies involved in Justice and Home Affairs, particularly the bodies in charge of the fight against organised crime and corruption.

© European Commission