Western Balkan jurisdictions join the meeting of the Global Operational Network of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities to discuss anti-corruption efforts and international cooperation

15-17 November 2022, Madrid, Spain: The Third Plenary meeting of the Global Operational Network of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities (GlobE) hosted over 150 participants across more than 50 countries around the world, accommodating different thematic discussions on the exchange of information among GlobE member authorities and multi-jurisdictional investigations of corruption offences, providing an opportunity for the members of the GlobE Network, its observers and other participants to engage in formal and informal bilateral and multilateral discussions on operational and strategic issues. 

With support of the UNODC Regional Programme for South-Eastern Europe, practitioners from the Western Balkan jurisdictions joined the event to exchange best practices and discuss the establishment of a GlobE Regional Component in the Western Balkans during a dedicated side event.

The GlobE focal point institutions together with the relevant authorities from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, presented their efforts in the fight against organized crime and corruption as well as their experiences in joining and utilizing the GlobE network while exploring ways to establish a regional component.

The side event also provided the opportunity to promote the Regional Anti-Corruption and Illicit Finance (ACIF) Roadmap, for which UNODC serves as a Secretariat. The Roadmap was endorsed in June 2021 in Ohrid, North Macedonia where the jurisdictions from the Western Balkans called to work together to strengthen collaboration at all levels through an inter-agency approach among law enforcement, prosecutorial and financial intelligence units. They committed to better using international, regional and cross-regional law enforcement cooperation, including through the GlobE, as an efficient tool for combating cross-border corruption offences and strengthening communication exchange and peer learning.

The Roadmap activities are generously supported by the Government of the United Kingdom.