Cooperating among international police authorities

The European Commission has launched a 4.5 million euro program of assistance to help the countries of Central and Eastern Europe tackle drug trafficking, money laundering, car theft and other crimes. The Commission will work with the Association of European Police Colleges (AEPC) in Budapest to provide a series of training programmes in modular form. Four general modules will deal with police ethics, Management, Police cooperation in Europe, and Training. In addition, thirteen specific modules will cover the problems of Control of migration flows, Drug trafficking, Financial crime and Money Laundering, Stolen art, Car theft, Trade in human beings, Trafficking in weapons and radioactive materials, Environmental crime, Methods of technical crime investigation, Prevention of criminality, Maintaining public order, Policing a multicultural society, Dealing with extreme phenomena. The project commenced in March 1999 and will run until February 2001. It is a practical example of how the police forces of the European Union are effectively combining efforts to assist the police forces of the applicant countries prepare for accession. In addition to the project leader AEPC, 10 Member States (Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, and United Kingdom) are also contributing to its implementation.