Eurojust has signed Working Arrangements with the Prosecution Services of Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru to fight the increasing threat of criminal activities globally.
The new agreements aim to enhance cooperation between authorities and Eurojust, making it more effective. According to a report from Europol, 68% of the most dangerous criminal networks operate globally, with 36% of these networks involved in drug trafficking. These networks launder money both in the EU and abroad. Eurojust’s Working Arrangements with Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, and Panama aim to strengthen cooperation in fighting organised crime and terrorism.
The EU Strategy to tackle Organised Crime emphasises the importance of Eurojust’s cooperation beyond the European Union to disrupt global criminal networks and transport routes. While signing the working arrangements, Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice, highlighted the significance of the cooperation between the EU and its six strategic partners in this field and the value of the milestones achieved.
“Drug trafficking is the most lucrative criminal activity in the EU, creating an illicit market with yearly earnings of at least 31 billion euros. To mitigate and halt the enormous harm to societies and individuals in both the European Union and Latin America, our response needs to be effective and collaborative. It is essential for prosecutors from Europe and Latin America to unite and devise strategies for closer cooperation, enabling us to not only disrupt criminal networks but also hold them accountable in court,” Eurojust president Ladislav Hamran said.
“I am honoured for Eurojust to serve as a platform to build this architecture, and I look forward to putting into practice the Working Arrangements Eurojust is signing with the prosecution authorities from Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru following the Working Arrangement we signed with Panama in January 2024,” Ladislav Hamran added.
The Working Arrangements aim to enhance cooperation in addressing crime issues impacting the EU and Latin American countries. These include drug and arms trafficking, money laundering, and cybercrime. Judicial authorities must collaborate in combating the increasing problem of drug trafficking, particularly by disrupting the transportation routes that allow large quantities of drugs to enter the EU through its ports. With the assistance of Eurojust, drugs worth EUR 25.6 billion were seized in 2023, more than double the amount seized in 2022.
The prosecutors general from Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru expressed concern about the impact of organised crime. To combat transnational crime, they are implementing working arrangements with the support of the EU’s EL PACCTO 2.0 and aim to conclude International Agreements with Eurojust to strengthen cooperation.
