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Source: Europol
Both the LIBE Committee and the JPSG play a crucial role in supporting Europol’s work, acting as key partners in ensuring the Agency’s accountability, transparency, and alignment with EU legislative priorities. The meeting yesterday also included the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) Wojciech Wiewiórowski and Europol’s Fundamental Rights Officer Dirk Allaerts.Strategic frameworkIn her opening remarks, Europol’s Executive Director welcomed the…
Source: NATO
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte addressed the 2024 NATO Resilience Symposium in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Tuesday (12 November).
In his video address, Mr Rutte highlighted the substantial progress that NATO and individual Allies have made since 2014 to strengthen resilience – an increasingly important task as societies across NATO are faced with growing challenges, whether from climate-related disasters or malign cyber activities. In a NATO context, resilience is the ability to prepare for, resist, respond to and quickly recover from shocks or disruptions and is a priority for Allies and partners alike. The Secretary General highlighted that resilience is not strictly military or civilian but “a whole-of-government and whole-of-society responsibility.” This is why Allies decided to integrate civilian planning into national and collective defence planning. And while this progress is important, Mr Rutte recognised that there is more work to do, emphasizing the “need to double-down on building a shared culture of resilience across the Euro-Atlantic” while building a NATO community involving public and private sectors, along with other international organisations, especially the European Union. “Together, we can better resist the growing pressure from those who seek to exploit our vulnerabilities,” the Secretary General concluded.
This year, the Symposium focused on promoting a proactive civil-military approach to resilience, in support of NATO’s defence plans and in line with commitments made by Allies at the 2024 Washington Summit.
Bringing together over 200 civil and military leaders, policymakers, practitioners and experts from Allied nations, partners, academia and industry, the annual NATO Resilience Symposium offers an opportunity to take stock of ongoing work and explore ideas to inform NATO’s resilience agenda.
Source: NATO
On Thursday, 14 November 2024, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will travel to Latvia.
The Secretary General will meet the President of Latvia, Mr Edgars Rinkēvičs, and the Prime Minister, Ms Evika Siliņa.
On the same day, Mr Rutte will visit the exercise Resolute Warrior of the NATO Multinational Brigade in the Ādaži Military Base, where he will address the troops.
Media advisory
11:55 (CET) Joint press conference by the Secretary General and the President of Latvia at the Ādaži Military Base.
Media coverage
The Secretary General’s press conference with the President will be streamed live on the NATO website, and broadcast live on EBU News Exchange.
Transcripts of the Secretary General’s remarks, as well as photographs, will be available on the NATO website. Video can be downloaded from the NATO Multimedia Portal after the event.
More information
For general queries: contact the NATO Press Office
Follow us on X: @NATO, @SecGenNATO and @NATOPress
Source: NATO
On Wednesday, 13 November 2024, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will travel to Poland.
The Secretary General will meet the President, Mr Andrzej Duda, the Prime Minister, Mr Donald Tusk, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, Mr Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Radosław Sikorski.
Media advisory
17:00 (CET) Joint press conference by the Secretary General and the Prime Minister of Poland.
18:10 (CET) Joint press conference by the Secretary General and the President of Poland.
Media coverage
The Secretary General’s joint press conferences will be streamed live on the NATO website, and broadcast live on EBU News Exchange.
Transcripts of the Secretary General’s remarks, as well as photographs, will be available on the NATO website. Video can be downloaded from the NATO Multimedia Portal after the event.
For more information:
For general queries: contact the NATO Press Office
Follow us on X: @NATO, @SecGenNATO and @NATOPress
Source: Eurojust
Commenting on his election as President by his fellow National Members, Mr Schmid stated: I am obviously delighted by the election and would like to thank my colleagues for giving me their confidence. As we look ahead, my goal is to further strengthen Eurojust’s support for the judicial authorities across Europe. In recent years, criminal proceedings have grown increasingly complex, driven by the rise of digitalisation, increasing links to non-European countries, and a more interconnected web of criminal networks. It is only together that we will be able to effectively tackle these challenges and care for a more secure Europe.
The President of Eurojust represents the Agency and oversees the meetings of the National Members who meet regularly in the College, which elected Mr Schmid today. The President also directs and monitors Eurojust’s activities and management, in close cooperation with Administrative Director Mr Vincent Jamin. Mr Schmid will also cooperate closely with the two Vice-Presidents of Eurojust, Mr Boštjan Škrlec and Ms Margarita Šniutytė-Daugėlienė.
Eurojust has been a thread throughout the career of Mr Schmid. In 2014, he came to the Agency as a trainee via the European Judicial Trainee Network (EJTN) and later worked as a Seconded National Expert and assistant to the National Member. In 2017, Mr Schmid became Deputy National Member, in which capacity he held the role of Vice-Chair of the Counter-Terrorism Team.
In April 2021, the new Eurojust President took up the role of Justice Counsellor at the Permanent Representation of Austria to the European Union in Brussels. In this role, he participated in numerous Council negotiations on criminal and procedural law, as well as the Digital Services Act. In April 2022, he returned to Eurojust as National Member for Austria. Recently, he chaired the Advisory Group on Organisational Development, a panel which designed the priorities and internal procedures of the Agency.
Mr Schmid graduated in law from the University of Vienna in 2007, joining the Austrian judiciary the same year. After completing the national training programme in 2011, he became a prosecutor in Vienna, dealing with general criminal cases and later economic crimes. During his first period at Eurojust, Mr Schmid undertook a Master’s programme in criminal justice at Leiden University in the Netherlands, graduating cum laude in 2021.
The new Eurojust President in the past served as a guest lecturer at numerous universities in Austria and abroad and was a teacher for practitioners at the Austrian Ministry of Justice, EJTN, the European Legal Academy (ERA) in Trier (Germany) and the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) in Budapest. Mr Schmid speaks German, English, Dutch and French.
Source: NATO
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and President Emmanuel Macron discussed on Thursday (12 November) the need to step up support for Ukraine, ramp up defence production and boost transatlantic defence industrial cooperation.
During his first official visit to Paris since taking office, the Secretary General highlighted the importance of France’s high-end military capabilities and skilled armed forces for the collective security of the Alliance.
They discussed the need for increased defence investment and robust transatlantic cooperation to ensure the Alliance’s lasting security.
“The more we spend on defence, the more we reduce the risk of future conflict,” said Rutte.
Mr. Rutte and President Macron also discussed the need for more support for Ukraine ahead of what could be its harshest winter, as Russia relentlessly targets its energy infrastructure.
Mr Rutte commended France for training and equipping an entire Ukrainian brigade, the Anne of Kyiv Brigade, and for its pledge to send Mirage fighter jets early next year.
“France has delivered advanced artillery guns, air defence systems, cruise missiles, and armoured vehicles,” he said.
The Secretary General also raised concerns about deepening military ties between Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, which pose a threat to European security and global peace.
Prior to his meeting with the French President, the Secretary General visited the factory floor of the French defence industry company Thales Group. During the visit, Mr Rutte met with young talents and engineers developing cutting-edge capabilities for NATO Allies.
Source: NATO
On Wednesday, 13 November 2024, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will receive the Secretary of State of the United States, Mr. Antony J. Blinken, at NATO Headquarters. Mr. Blinken will engage with Allies at the North Atlantic Council (NAC).
Media advisory
+/- 9:00 (CET) Remarks by the Secretary General and the Secretary of State
Media coverage
More information:
For general queries: contact the NATO Press Office
Follow us on X: @NATO, @SecGenNATO and @NATOPress
Source: Europol
Data gathered from recent investigations shows that minors are involved in almost all criminal markets.While the recruitment of minors into serious organised crime and terrorism is not new, in recent years it has evolved into a deliberate tactic by criminal networks to evade detection, arrest, or prosecution. The practice has expanded across multiple countries and recruitment methods have shifted, with…
Source: NATO
On Monday (11 November 2024), NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte honoured the courage and sacrifice of those who have served and continue to serve in the military. He paid tribute to all those who defend our freedoms and protect our way of life. As well as commemorating Armistice Day, he delivered a message of thanks on US Veterans Day, underlining the patriotism, courage and sacrifice of those who answered their country’s call.
Source: Eurojust
The fake art recovered by the authorities included forged works by famous artists such as Banksy, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Francis Bacon, Wassily Kandinsky, Gustav Klimt, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh and Salvador Dalí. Investigations into the fake works revealed a network of forgers in Spain, France and Belgium. Once the fake works of art were produced, the network would work with several complicit auction houses in Italy to sell the pieces. To ensure the credibility of the auctions, exhibitions were organised throughout Italy and a catalogue of the art was published. Catching the forgers made it possible to avoid the works being auctioned off at prices close to the original works by the real artists.
The investigation into the network began in March 2023, when Italian authorities found around 200 fake works of art during a search order against an entrepreneur. This led investigators to monitor e-commerce platforms of auction houses to find similar works for sale and the sellers of these pieces. The investigation identified two forgers and two painting workshops that were used to produce the fake works of art.
As the investigation uncovered a European forgery network, cross-border judicial cooperation was initiated at Eurojust. Eurojust ensured that three European Investigation Orders were issued against six suspects in Spain, France and Belgium. The searches led to the discovery of forgery workshops and the seizure of 1 000 fake works of art and more than 500 forged certificates and stamps of authenticity.
The investigation led to charges against 38 suspects in the forgery network for conspiracy to forge and deal in contemporary art. Experts from the Italian authorities confirmed that the works of art were not originals and estimated the economic damage at approximately EUR 200 million if the pieces had been auctioned. By preventing these works from reaching the market, the authorities averted a major disruption to the art auction industry.
In agreement with the authorities involved and with the support of Eurojust, all the fake works of art and items seized in Spain, France and Belgium have been handed over to the Italian authorities for further analysis.
The following authorities were involved in the actions: