Romanian, Belgian prosecuters discuss about coopertation in combating organized crime, droug traffiking

Representatives of the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) in Romania and those of the Belgian Federal Prosecutor's Office had, during 17-19 October, a series of consultations under the Cooperation Agreement between the two institutions, signed in Brussels on 9 September 2008 according to Agerpres.

According to DIICOT, both sides emphasized in Bucharest that the agreement is an example of bilateral cooperation and which later served as a model in concluding some similar agreements with other states.

"It was emphasized that, beyond the international cooperation instruments already implemented, the agreement between the two sides strengthened the cooperation between DIICOT and the Federal Prosecutor's Office in the 10 years since its conclusion in preventing and combating organized cross-border crime and terrorism, this fact being proven in joint cases or international legal assistance requests. Also, the two sides welcomed European funding for the "Snow White" project, coordinated by DIICOT in partnership with Belgium, Lithuania and Germany, and whose overall objective is to improve cooperation in combating drug trafficking," the DIICOT release mentions.

The implementation period of the project is 24 months and will take place between January 2019 and January 2021.

The Belgian delegation consisted of Christian De Valkeneer, President of Belgium's General Prosecutors' Office, Frederic Van Leeuw, Federal Prosecutor of Belgium, Eric Bisschop, Deputy Federal Prosecutor, and Thomas Lamiroy, Head of the International Cooperation Service.

The Romanian side was represented by Felix Banila, the Chief Prosecutor of DIICOT, alongside Ioana Albani, Deputy Chief Prosecutor, as well as chief prosecutors of the departments and services within the Directorate.