Movement with ID in the Western Balkans?/ The Minister of the Interior reveals what are the three decisions approved by the Government

At the end of the Government meeting, the Minister of the Interior, Bledi Çuçi, spoke about two approved decisions related to free movement and the strengthening of regional cooperation.

"The first concerns the free movement of citizens in the Western Balkans with only ID. It is an agreement that was signed in Berlin in November last year. With the entry into force of this decision, all citizens of the Western Balkans can come and move freely in Albania only with ID. This agreement is in the spirit of two very important initiatives for the strengthening of the region and the Western Balkans, the Berlin Process and the Open Balkans", Minister Çuçi declared.

As for the second decision, it is related to the cooperation with North Macedonia for the creation of "Task Forces" to address the fight against organized crime and trafficking.

"It is an agreement that must be ratified in the Parliament of Albania, so today we approved the government's decision. Based on this agreement, we will create a "Task Force" that will specifically address certain issues related to organized crime and that belong to both countries, and where all the modalities of this cooperation will be defined. It is an agreement that brings us even closer to our neighbor. We already have a lot of experience with "task forces" or joint investigative and operational groups with European countries. Last year alone, we had over 20 such joint operations with partner police in Europe. So we are already creating the legal infrastructure with North Macedonia to have cooperation of this nature", said Minister Çuçi.

Another decision approved today at the Government meeting concerns the approval of the Action Plan for the fight against organized crime and serious crimes for the years 2023-2025, a detailed action plan, which has been seen and designed with many care, also in coordination with our partners.

"Of the new ones, in the Action Plan, I could single out the creation of the Agency for Asset Recovery or extensive training in the cyber field. It is a plan that I believe will take it to another stage; certain actions with specific deadlines have been determined that will lead to another stage in the fight against organized crime and serious crimes", Minister Çuçi declared.