Justice officials from the EU, its member states and Latin America met in Brussels on Thursday to strengthen judicial cooperation against transnational organised crime.
The meeting was organised by the European Commission and co-chaired by Ana Gallego and Irena Moozova from the EU Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, alongside Myriam Ferran from the Directorate-General for International Partnerships, the EU executive announced on Friday.
Representatives attended from Latin American ministries of justice, EU member states, the European External Action Service, Eurojust and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Talks covered regional and bi-regional strategies to combat transnational organised crime, including support for Joint Investigation Teams — collaborations between authorities in different countries.
Focus on evidence, legal assistance and recovering assets
Officials also discussed strengthening mutual legal assistance between countries, and closer cooperation on asset recovery and confiscation, electronic evidence and data protection, according to the Commission.
The Commission stated further the discussions took place in the context of EU and Latin America and Caribbean cooperation, and referred to the EU-funded EL PACCTO 2.0 programme as a platform for dialogue, institutional strengthening and support to operational cooperation.
