BUCHAREST, May 26th – Today, the SECI Center celebrates its anniversary. On May the 26th 1999 twelve states, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro ( as it then was), Slovenia and Turkey signed the “Agreement on Cooperation to Prevent and Combat Trans-border Crime”, thus establishing the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative Regional Center for Combating Transborder Crime, SECI Center.
“This was one of the most important decisions that countries of Southeast Europe took at that moment, despite the problems they were facing and the conflicts between them. The commitment to counter organized crime was stronger than politics issues.
This approach has been maintained until today. The SECICenter is an operational organization which is focusing its resources on information exchanges, regional operations, joint investigations, trainings and analytical reports in order to dismantle criminal networks that affect the region.
Police and customs officers from the member countries work under the same roof, having the same purpose: fighting a strong enemy that does not see borders,” Mitja Močnik, the SECI Center director stated.
“I had the privilege of being one the Romanian Police experts who took part in the negotiations of the agreement we are celebrating today and I had also witnessed the signing ceremony. Now, as a deputy director I have the advantage of being involved in the discussion regarding the new cooperation agreement, which will enhance our capacity, adding new values and roles to our organization,” Gabriel Sotirescu, the deputy director affirmed.
The SECI Center ‘s activity developed from year to year, now having a recognized and appreciated impact in the region. For example, the number of information exchanges grew from 315 in 2001, to 7583 last year.
“The figures speak for themselves. What is not countable is the huge effort of the member countries, their involvement in the joint operations and the SECICenter’s proactive approach on the regional and international cooperation. On this occasion I want to extend my appreciation for those that are contributing to this mutual achievement, the member countries, especially Romania as our host, the observer states, the organizations that have a similar objective, “ Mr. Močnik added.
“The SECICenter is the sign of the nations’ commitment to have peace and prosperity prevail in the region “ Ibrahim Gül, Head of Legal/Internal Department stated.
The SECI Center is a unique organization in the region due to the two authorities that work closely together and sent their representatives, police and customs administrations, and to the fact that the Center establishes a common language and working method for both European Union and non-EU countries.
An important contribution to the organization’s activity has been given by some of the observer states: the United States of America, The Netherlands, Germany. The SECI Center works closely with the other observers, too: Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Canada, EUBAM, France, Georgia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Slovakia, Ukraine, UNDP Romania, the United Kingdom, UNMIK as well as with the two advisors Interpol and the World Customs Organization.
