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DCAF contributes to CEPOL Course for law enfrorcement practitioners on ISIL threat to Europe
Budapest, Hungary - Between 10–12 February 2015, DCAF attended the CEPOL Course on the Threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), attended by law enforcement practitioners from EU Member States, Switzerland, the U.S., Macedonia, Albania, Turkey, Europol, Office of the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, EEAS, OSCE, Interpol, Frontex and DCAF. EU Member States' police and intelligence experts provided their views of the current situation, the nature and cross-border implications of ISIL, and different national approaches on part of law enforcement agencies of the U.K., Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, and also of the U.S. It is estimated that the threat of terrorism attacks in their countries remains imminent. In order to face this threat, they have implemented comprehensive approaches, where national law enforcement services cooperate with all other national stakeholders to deal with the many-faceted threats and stages of the development of these threats, and implemented strong measures related to countering radicalisation, recruitment and foreign fighters. EU agencies and institutions presented the ongoing work of the EU to reinforce or make better use of EU-level instruments in the area of Justice and Home Affairs in order to provide a sufficient EU response. Turkish police presented the difficulties in dealing with the issue of persons travelling from EU Member States across Turkish borders toward Syria with the intention to participate in terrorist activities, and emphasised the need for more efficient information exchange and closer cooperation with the EU. Mr Andrej Rupnik, Assistant Director, and Ms Jelka Klemenc, Project Manager (both DCAF Ljubljana), presented the regional efforts in Southeast Europe in the area of countering terrorism, radicalisation and recruitment, which are to be integrated into the Police Cooperation Convention for Southeast Europe (PCC SEE) framework, and the objectives of the future EU-co-financed multi-annual project led by PCC SEE Secretariat, aimed to build the capacities and raise the awareness of regional law enforcement services.