TASK-FORCE ON ORGANIZED CRIME

IN THE BALTIC SEA REGION

REPORT TO

THE HEADS OF GOVERNMENT

Submitted at

The Second Baltic Sea States Summit

Riga, Latvia, 22-23 January 1998

 

 

 

Contents

Summary 3

1. Introduction 4

1. 1 Background 4

1.2 Purpose of the report 4

2. The idea of a Task-Force on Organized Crime in 4
the Baltic Sea Region

2.1 Establishment of the Task-Force and appointment 4
of personal representatives

2.2 Mandate given by the Heads of Government 5

3. Objectives 5

4. Organisation of the work 6

4.1 How are the meetings arranged? 6

4.2 Secretariat in Stockholm 7

4.3 Participants 7

4.4 Forerunner countries and ad-hoc expert meetings 7

5. Results and issues pending 7

5.1 Categories and division of responsibilities 7

5.2 Improved and increased exchange of information 8

5.2.1 Contact points - Germany 8

5.2.2 Establishment of the BALTCOM system - Norway 9

5.2.3 Special contact points during joint operations 9

5.2.4 Use of ad hoc liaison officers - Estonia 10

5.2.5 Conclusions 10

5.3 Joint concrete and operative measures/actions 10

5.3. 1 Preparation of joint control operations 10

5.3.2 Amphetamine - Poland and Sweden 11

5.3.3 Stolen vehicles - Norway and Russia 12

5.3.4 Illegal migration - Germany 13

5.3.5 Money laundering - Finland 15

5.3.6 Baltic Sea Manual on Controlled Deliveries - Poland 16

5.3.7 Conclusions 16

5.4 Judicial co-operation 17

5.4. 1 State of ratification of relevant international conventions 17

5.4.2 Witness protection - Lithuania 17

5.4.3 Co-operation between prosecutors of the Baltic Sea Region - 18
Estonia and Sweden

5.4.4 Conclusions 19

5.5 Special surveys, training and other co-operation 20

5.5.1 Survey on ongoing bilateral/lmultilateral co-operation and 20
assistance
 

5.5.2 Overview of existing training programmes/assistance for law 20
enforcement officers in the region - Denmark

5.5.3 Proposals concerning illegal migration and trafficking of 20
human beings - Sweden

5.5.4 Projects presented to the Phare and Tacis Programmes 22

5.5.5 Conclusions 22

6. Bilateral co-operation 22

7. Proposals for the future 23

Annex 1 - List of personal representatives 25

Annex 2 - Opening speech held by Mr Pär Nuder 27

Annex 3 - Objectives of the Task-Force 30

Annex 4 - Guidelines for the use of and type of information exchanged in 31
the BALTCOM system

Annex 5 - List of ratifications of relevant conventions 32

 

Summary

Since June 1996 a new form of co-operation in the fight against organized crime in the Baltic Sea Region has been in place, i.e. the Task-Force on Organized Crime in the Baltic Sea Region. The keywords, given by the Heads of Government at the Baltic Sea States Summit in May 1996, have been "urgent need" and "immediate implementation". The work of the Task-Force has therefore focused on concrete measures and was early divided up in four main areas, namely, improved and increased exchange of information, joint concrete and operative measures/actions, judicial co-operation and special surveys, training and other co-operation. Examples of measures which have been carried out within the framework of the Task-Force are joint operations in the field of amphetamines, stolen vehicles and illegal migration. These have mainly been carried out during the spring and autumn of 1997. For further details, please, refer to chapter 5.

The Task-Force consists of personal representatives of the Heads of Government in the Baltic Sea Region and of the European Commission and has held twelve meetings since June 1996. For the preparation and implementation of different measures a number of ad hoc expert groups have been formed consisting of experts from inter alia police, customs and border/coast guard authorities.

The results have been overall positive in the sense that it has proven that international co-operation in the fight against organized crime can be developed fairly rapidly and on a concrete and practical level. The co-operation in this field has therefore been clearly strengthened in the Baltic Sea Region. A key to success has been the general agreement that the work, as much as possible, should be based on national legislation leaving aside discussions on a joint legal basis. It has been proven that very much can be carried out jointly within the framework of national legislation and existing international agreements.

In accordance with the mandate the Task-Force should present a report to the next meeting of Heads of Government. Draft proposals for the future are included in chapter 7.

  

1. Introduction

1.1 Background

The Heads of Government concluded at the Baltic Sea States Summit, 3-4 May 1996 in Visby, that there is an urgent need for direct and concerted action to combat organized crime. It was therefore decided to establish a task-force of personal representatives of the Heads of Government to elaborate measures for immediate implementation and other concrete proposals to reinforce the regional co-operation in this field.

In the mandate the Task-Force was requested to report back to the next meeting of the Heads of Government, and therefore this report is presented at the Second Baltic Sea States Summit in Riga on 22-23 January 1998. 

 

1.2 Purpose of the report

The report is both a formal report to the Heads of Government but also a more comprehensive information to the public on the work so far. This report and in particular the reactions on it will give input to the Heads of Government in the Baltic Sea Region on the need for continued co-operation against organized crime.

The report consists of three main parts. The first part (chapters 2-4) describes how the Task-Force was formed, its objectives and organisation of the work. The second part (chapter 5) describes the results achieved so far and the issues pending. The third part consists of the proposals for the future. 

 

2. The idea of a Task-Force on Organized Crime in the Baltic Sea Region 

2.1 Establishment of the Task-Force and appointment of personal representatives

The idea of setting up a Task-Force on Organized Crime in the Baltic Sea Region had not been part of the negotiations and preparations of the summit meeting in May 1996. Discussions had been held concerning the importance of further activities in the field of combating international crime, inter alia in the Baltic Sea Conference on International Crime. However, during the discussions in the summit meeting suggestions were put forward in this regard which resulted in the agreement to establish the Task-Force.

It was therefore somewhat unclear after the summit meeting how the Task-Force should be formed but the conclusions of the summit did make clear that the participants looked to the Swedish Prime Minister, Mr. Göran Persson, to ensure the co-ordination of the continued Baltic Sea co-operation. He, therefore, invited his colleagues to nominate their personal representatives to institute the new Task-Force. The personal representatives have changed through the first year due to changes of Government and also due to changes in the rotating Presidency of the European Union. The European Commission, through its President's personal representative, is represented in the Task-Force, as is the Presidency of the EU. Mr. Par Nuder, State Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office in Sweden, has been the chairman since the beginning of the Task-Force. A list of the personal representatives is found in Annex 1.

The first meeting of the Task-Force was held on 13 June 1996 in Stockholm and the Task-Force was hereby established (see opening speech by Mr Nuder in Annex 2).

 

2.2 Mandate given by the Heads of Government

The mandate given to the Task-Force in the communique reads as follows.

"There is an urgent need for direct and concerted action to combat organized crime. It was therefore decided to establish a task-force of personal representatives of the Heads of Government to elaborate measures for immediate implementation and other concrete proposals to reinforce the regional co-operation in this field."

Although the mandate is short in actual words the personal representatives have found the mandate to be quite clear, i.e. that there is a strong interest from the Heads of Government not only to receive a report on what ought and could be done, but rather to come up with solutions and proposals and directly start implementing these at the same time as other measures are being suggested and prepared. In chapter 4 there is a description of the working methods, which explains how the mandate has been transferred into action. 

 

3. Objectives

Between the first and the second meeting the chairman visited most of the capitals of the region. At the meeting on 18 September he presented his personal reflections and the overall conclusion drawn from the trips was that the fight against organized crime in the region was now put on the top of the agenda in all capitals. That made the work of the task-force a bit easier, and Mr. Nuder repeated some of the criteria for the work, which he had found to be generally accepted.

• The work should be based on elaborating concrete and operative measures.

• The work should be as flexible and informal as possible. In some specific areas formal agreements might have to be included, but this ought to be kept to a minimum.

• Existing structures and co-operation should be used as much as possible in order to avoid duplication of efforts. 

An increased involvement of the European Union within the framework of the Phare and Tacis programmes was desirable.

Before the meeting a draft document with the objectives for the Task-Force had been circulated and the document was adopted at the meeting. Since then the objectives have been the basis for the work and any amendments have not been discussed. The objectives of the Task-Force are found in Annex 3. 

 

4. Organisation of the work 

4.1 How are the meetings arranged?

Generally meetings have been held in Stockholm with one exception when the TaskForce met in Warsaw. The following procedure has been used. A draft agenda and programme is distributed two weeks before the meeting. One week before the meeting the chairman's draft proposals for discussion and possible adoption are sent out in order to make the meeting as efficient as possible. It means that when the personal representatives attend the meeting they are already familiar with the chairman's proposals and are therefore, to the extent possible, expected to react to them directly at the meeting. In this way the issues are generally brought forward without any delay or need for a second discussion. The meetings are normally held only during one day. Simultaneous interpretation is provided to and from English, German and Russian. All written documents are, however, produced only in English in order to make the work as fast as possible.

There is no joint budget for the work of the Task-Force and all participating countries cover their own costs, The Swedish Government has recently set aside a limited sum in order to facilitate the active participation in different expert meetings.

Twelve meetings have been held so far in the Task-Force on the following dates. 

13 June 1996 (constituent meeting)

18 September 1996

18 October 1996

3 December 1996

28 January 1997

6 March 1997 (meeting in Warsaw)

4 April 1997

15 May 1997

27 June 1997

26 September 1997

31 October 1997

5 December 1997 

 

4.2 Secretariat in Stockholm

A small secretariat for the running of the Task-Force has been established in Stockholm at the Ministry of Justice. The secretariat is responsible for the preparations and all documentation in conjunction with the meetings. The secretariat also plays the role of a general contact point and centre for information concerning the work of the Task-Force. An Internet homepage (http://www.baltinfo.org/taskforce) with general information about the Task-Force is also run by the Secretariat.

 

4.3 Participants

The personal representatives are generally accompanied by two experts on law enforcement issues. It is considered important to have a direct link between the TaskForce and the responsible law enforcement agencies. The participation of the experts is therefore essential for the efficient management of the work of the Task-Force. In the majority of the meetings most of the personal representatives have participated.

 

4.4 Forerunner countries and ad-hoc expert meetings

In order to divide the work load and make the work more dynamic the countries of the region have taken on special responsibilities. This has also resulted in a very active participation of the countries and ensured that the issues have been brought forward faster than is normally experienced in this kind of international multilateral cooperation. The forerunner countries have prepared the different measures mainly through multilateral ad hoc expert meetings. The expert meetings are described under chapter 5 as well as the responsibilities given to the countries of the region.

  

5. Results and issues pending

5.1 Categories and division of responsibilities

The work was already at the meeting on 18 September 1996 divided up into four main categories, namely, improved and increased exchange of information, joint concrete and operative measures/actions, judicial co-operation and special surveys, training and other co-operation. The choice of categories was based on proposals from each country on at least three concrete and operative measures which they would like to put emphasis on. The different measures being discussed and later on implemented under each category have varied in both size and scope but generally been based on the objectives earlier described. The division of responsibilities has been done in a flexible manner and the countries responsible for a certain field or a specific measure are identified below. 

 

5.2 Improved and increased exchange of information 

5.2. 1 Contact points - Germany

In order to have a fundamental basis for improved exchange of information it was decided at the meeting on 18 September 1996 that contact points (communication centres) manned round the clock (24 hours) should be set up in each Baltic Sea country. A list with contact points was to be established and the system was to be tested before the next meeting on 18 October 1996. At that meeting the personal representative of Germany reported that a test had been carried out between 6-7 October 1997. The Bundeskriminalamt was responsible for the test, and the Baltic Sea Conference Manual was used as a basis for contacting the different authorities of the region. Unfortunately, the results were quite unsatisfactory. The test had only been completed with three countries. It was decided that a list of the designated contact points with the correct phone and fax numbers and other valuable information should be completed and circulated by Germany to all members of the Task-Force. It was, furthermore, decided that a new test should be carried out before the next meeting. At the meeting on 3 December 1996 Germany presented the results of the second test of the contact point system. The test was carried out on Sunday 24 November 1996, and the results were much better this time. The successful test was noted by the Task-Force but it was still decided that a third test should be carried out.

Germany presented consequently, at the meeting on 28 January 1997, the results of the third test of the contact point system. The test was carried out on Saturday 18 January 1997, and the results could overall be described as favourable. A few problems with contacts had been noted but those could probably be overcome. It was suggested by Germany that further tests were at this stage not necessary, but the contact point system should from now on instead be used on a regular basis. An updated list of contact points was circulated and the Task-Force agreed upon that the list should be up-dated every three months.

Since then the issue of contact points was a standing point on the agenda of the TaskForce. Unplanned tests were in the meantime carried out by both Germany and Sweden which showed that the contact points were now responding but that still there were misses. At the meeting of 31 October it was therefore decided that a final test should be carried out before the meeting of the Heads of Government.

From that test it could be concluded that the contact points are now working but that in a few cases the performance could be improved. Compared with the starting point in October 1996 of only three countries responding significant progress had been made and the result of the fifth test was a confirmation of this. It was agreed that the functioning of contact points would be continued to be monitored also in the future. 

 

5.2.2 Establishment of the BALTCOM system - Norway

In order to establish an efficient and safe means of communication between the contact points Norway was given the responsibility to suggest a suitable way forward. At the meeting on 18 October 1996 Norway presented a proposal mainly building on the usage of the Interpol system (X 400). A second proposal was presented at the meeting on 3 December and it was decided that the X-400 Interpol network should be the basis for the development of a Baltic Sea Encrypted Network (BALTCOM). In this way the already existing Interpol technique would be used and duplication of efforts would be avoided. The development of the system was after that reported at each meeting and at the meeting on 4 April 1997 the system was considered to be operational. The personal representatives also agreed at that meeting that a special expert meeting would need to be held in order to fine tune the use of BALTCOM. The basic guidelines for the use of and type of information exchanged in the BALTCOM system were adopted (Annex 4).

The first meeting of the Heads of National BaItcom. Offices was held in Oslo, Norway, on 18-19 June 1997. In the meeting there was unanimous agreement on the objectives and technical framework for BALTCOM. In accordance with the agreement BALTCOM should be based on the existing X-400 Interpol network and equipment, it should be a network exclusively for the Baltic Sea Region and there should not be any central storage of data. It was specifically pointed out by Norway that the system is already ready to be used, either via ICPO-Lyons or directly. The overall goals for BALTCOM were established at the meeting on 18-19 June 1997 and are the

following.

Time frame

- 24 hours service 4. quarter 1998

- Direct communication 4. quarter 1998

- Transmission of photos and fingerprints 4. quarter 1998

- On-line encryption 1. quarter 1998

- Update of manual 3. quarter 1997

- Cost estimates 3. quarter 1997 

 

During the autumn the work with establishing direct communication has been further pursued and cost estimates have been presented. The Baltic Sea Manual has been updated.

  

5. 2.3 Special contact points during joint operations

During the joint operations, which are described more in detail below, special contact points have been established for speedy and exact exchange of information. Those contact points have generally worked very well and have been used frequently during the operations. 

 

5.2.4 Use of ad hoc liaison officers - Estonia

The use of liaison officers has been emphasised by the Task-Force already from the beginning of the work. There was early common agreement that the use of liaison officers should be increased but had to be based on the will of each country to send liaison officers. Bearing in mind the high costs involved when stationing liaison officers it was decided at the meeting on 18 September 1996 that a proposal on the possible use of ad hoc liaison officers should be worked out. Estonia assumed the responsibility for this. After a number of discussions the Task-Force came to the conclusion that the use of ad hoc liaison officers would only receive limited support. Therefore the idea of ad hoc liaison officers was not brought forward.

  

5.2.5 Conclusions

Swift exchange of information in law enforcement issues is not an easy task. The basic idea behind the contact point system is to ensure that there will always be someone available when needed and be a final resort when other established channels do not work. The availability is an easy task to agree on but the communicability is more problematic. There a two main reasons for this, namely, that the communication system does not work (telephone, fax or computer) or that contact is established but language problems make it difficult to communicate. Therefore the setting up of Baltcom is important for safe communication and the introduction of standard documents for request for information in order to avoid language problems.

The Task-Force feels that several important steps have been taken and been implemented since September 1996, but is of the opinion that the work needs to be continued in order to further improve and increase the exchange of information between the law enforcement authorities of the region.

 

5.3 Joint concrete and operative measures/actions

 

5.3.1 Preparation of joint control operations

At the meeting on 18 September 1996 it was decided that a special operative expert meeting should be held in Stockholm on 17 October 1996. The expert meeting should carefully consider if joint control operations could be carried out in the Baltic Sea region, and if so, work out concrete proposals on how the operations should be carried out.

The experts came to the conclusion and suggested that five ad hoc working groups should be established for the preparation of joint control operations/projects. The ad hoc working groups would deal with the following topics with forerunner countries responsible as indicated:

- Amphetamine, Poland and Sweden

- Stolen vehicles, Norway 

- Illegal migration, Germany

- Money laundering, Finland

- Smuggling of weapons and highly taxed goods, Lithuania

All five groups should start their work as soon as possible, but it was particularly stressed that two pilot projects (amphetamine and illegal migration) would begin to work immediately. The Task-Force adopted the proposals from the experts at the meeting of 18 October 1996.

 

 

5.3.2 Amphetamine - Poland and Sweden

The amphetamine project was chosen to be a pilot project. After an initial bilateral meeting (Poland-Sweden) on 12 November 1996 the amphetamine project was gradually formulated. On 24-25 March 1997 a joint Baltic Sea expert meeting was held, and a common agreement on the Amphetamine Project Action Plan was then reached. The different steps could be surnmarized as follows:

I . Elaboration of a manual/report on operational practices and techniques related to drug matters, (Compatible with the Europol/EDU survey "Operational techniques and practices related to drug matters in the EU".)

2. Compilation of a report on the situation concerning illicit production and trafficking in amphetamine and synthetic narcotics (threat assessment)

3. Creation of operational task-forces.

4. Establishment of a seizure reporting system.

5. Establishment of central data banks for drug related intelligence information in each participating country.

6. Joint control operations against drug traffickers in the Baltic Sea Region.

Common agreement was reached at the meeting of the Task-Force on 4 April 1997 that a joint operation on amphetamine should be carried out involving police, customs and border guard authorities. At the Task-Force meeting on 15 May 1997 the results of the first operation of its kind was reported. The operation Speed was carried out during 24 hours in the beginning of May 1997. As this was a pilot operation any major seizures had not been expected, but the results turned out to be surprisingly good. However, it could already now be concluded that the contact points ought to be used more frequently.

Sweden reported that a large seizure of 10 kg amphetamines had been made during the operation. Denmark had also seized 10 kg. In Finland no amphetamines were encountered but 2 alcohol smugglers and 2 weapon smugglers had been arrested. Germany had seized 8 kg of amphetamines. In addition 53 people had been questioned, other small seizures had been made as well as a seizure of 14000 cigarettes. Germany felt that this was a very good first step and expressed hope that the report from Poland would in the end be very detailed. The report should put emphasis on the negative points in order to do away with mistakes. Germany also suggested that the operation should be repeated. Latvia and Lithuania reported no seizures of drugs. Lithuania suggested that the operation should be improved and made more global. Russia reported that they had discovered several drug rings but no seizures of amphetamines had been made. However, 3 kg marihuana were seized in St. Petersburg. Poland reported seizures of marihuana and hash.

It was decided that an expert meeting would be held in Poland or Sweden in the beginning of September 1997 in order to evaluate Speed I and consider the question of a co-ordination centre. The Task-Force agreed in principle that Speed II would be carried out and asked the experts to decide on the details at the expert meeting.

Speed 11 was carried out on 14 November during 24 hours. The aim of the operation was also this time to improve cross-border co-operation between the countries in the region in the field of drug enforcement and detection of drug traffickers, taking into account experiences from Speed 1, where some weaknesses, concerning communications as well as deployment of human and technical resources had been noted.

Totally 1.988 law enforcement officers and 125 dogs were involved in the operation. Control measures were intensified at 128 border check points of the region. The seizures of amphetamine was this time limited. However, seizures of other drugs (e.g. hashish, marihuana, khat, heroin) and highly taxed goods were made. Poland seized 5 stolen vehicles while Latvia seized 1 stolen vehicle.

The following conclusions were made concerning Speed II and future operations.

The communication between the national contact points functioned well. The operation fulfilled the objective of testing the co-operation between different national authorities within the countries involved. The operation exposed communication problems between domestic law enforcement authorities in some of the participating states. The operation did not fulfil the objectives as far as quantitative seizures of amphetamines were concerned. In the future, Drug Enforcement Services should concentrate on carrying out joint bilateral or multilateral operations based on criminal intelligence and cases initiated through such information, as well as border control measures implemented on an irregular basis. The operations could in the future focus also on other drugs than amphetamines. Appropriate contacts should be established with EDU/Europol in the future work of the Task-Force in order to exchange experiences and information in the field of drugs.

At the Task-Force meeting of 5 December 1997 the Baltic Sea Manual on operational practices and techniques related to drug matters was adopted. The manual, which was prepared by Poland will be up dated every six months.

 

 

5.3.3 Stolen vehicles - Norway and Russia

Following discussions at the Task-Force meeting on 3 December 1996 there was common agreement that specific control measures concerning stolen vehicles should be carried out. Norway and Russia were given the responsibility jointly and an expert meeting was held in St. Petersburg on 26 February 1997 in order to plan the operation. The operation was carried out in April during 24 hours in all countries of the region.

A meeting of the national co-ordinators was held in Stockholm on 21 April to evaluate the controls which had been carried out. 26.299 vehicles had been controlled during 24 hours. Out of these 37 were stolen.

On 10- 11 October 1997 a second joint operation concerning stolen vehicles was carried out during 24 hours. 16.503 vehicles were checked in the region and 11 stolen vehicles were discovered. About 2.500 officers were involved in the inspections.

Some general characteristics were noted during the operations:

All stolen veh icles which were seized were German made (Audi, BMW, Ford, Opel, Mercedes and VW.) The cars were relatively recent models. With one exception the cars had been stolen less than a month before they were seized. All the cars came from West European countries and were heading east.

Despite the fact that large number of stolen vehicles had not been intercepted the controls must be considered as successful. 42.802 vehicles have been checked in two operations, without any major problems as to the co-operation and communication between the participating countries. Only smaller adjustments to make the cooperation run smoother are needed. However, as seen from the operational results, joint operations in all countries at the same time do not seem to yield the desired effect, and those kind of operations are also complicated to implement. For the future a programme of more concentrated and targeted actions ought to be worked out. 

 

5.3.4 Illegal migration - Germany

Based on the Task Force decisions taken on 17-18 October 1996 preparations were made for the first control and monitoring operation of the border authorities of all riparian states of the Baltic Sea.

A first expert meeting was held in Neustadt on 20-21 January 1997. A general outline on how these operations could be carried out had been discussed and there was a common agreement that the first would be a maritime operation.

The purpose of the operation was to collect, through international co-operation, intelligence and information on the maritime traffic in the Baltic Sea in order to be able to combat illegal migration in the Baltic Sea region more effectively.

At the Task-Force meeting on 28 January 1997, it was pointed out that the benefit was not only the planned operation, but the preparations would also be of great value for the daily co-operation in the field of border control between all countries of the region. The further operative planning was held in Neustadt on 11-12 March and 15 April 1997. Prior to the first operation, a number of national meetings within the participating states were also necessary to prepare and implement this international approach.

The first operation took place under the name BALTIC GUARD from 23 May through I June 1997 (10 days). It involved all riparian states of the Baltic Sea. Each of them set up a national co-ordinating centre (NCC) and dispatched liaison officers to the international co-ordinating centre (ICC) in Neustadt which controlled the overall operation.

Measures to combat illegal migration and the trafficking of illegal immigrants were carried out simultaneously in all participating states (including in particular intensified checks in the seaport and at sea and the monitoring and tracing of ship movements). The NCCs transferred their information to the ICC where it was analyzed.

A total of 7.338 ship movements were monitored and 3.379 ships were checked.

At an international evaluation meeting held in Germany on 8-9 July 1997 the following conclusions were made concerning Baltic Guard I.

• The objective of operation BALTIC GUARD was achieved, although no spectacular arrests were made. The operation provided i.a. valuable intelligence on specific problem areas in the Baltic Sea, on the ship traffic in general but also on certain suspicious vessels that sail the Baltic Sea permanently.

• The operation was important not only for international co-operation but also for the co-operation among the national authorities.

• The organisational set-up involving the NCCs and the ICCs has proved to be valid. The liaison officers annexed to the ICC were of particular importance. Their contribution towards the solution of any occurring problems was indeed of critical importance. The contacts that evolved in every-day co-operation made it possible to get to know and understand the structural set-up and the work flows inside the participating authorities as well as the conditions of the legal framework, so that the co-operation became even more effective in the second joint operation.

After a short preparatory phase (and an international briefing on 19 August 1997), the second operation BALTIC GUARD took place from 30 August through 3 September 1997. The objectives and the organisational set-up were the same as with the first operation, while the operational basis had been improved meanwhile.

There were no spectacular arrests in connection with illegal entry. In Denmark and Sweden, however, 1.4 million smuggled cigarettes were seized in connection with two arrests. Throughout the four days of the operation, 3.570 ship movements were recorded and 2.213 vessels were checked. The "list of suspicious vessels", which was constantly updated throughout the two operations, increased from 141 to 161. The list had been constantly revised during the operation.

During the second operation, the procedures, reporting patterns, reporting routes, report formats etc. were fine tuned so that the prerequisites are now in place to implement internationally co-ordinated monitoring and control measures and arrests on an ad-hoc basis if needed. The new bases have since been used in the every-day cooperation.

The operation is considered to have had a highly preventive effect. The experience gained so far indicated that similar operations of up to four days should be held on a regular basis at least once a year. Such targeted massive operations do not only have a preventive effect but they also serve a repressive purpose and are necessary to maintain and enhance effective co-operation between the law enforcement authorities both on the national and international level.

Above and beyond this, it is intended to develop, on the basis of a regular exchange of up-to-date information and intelligence between the relevant border authorities of the riparian of the Baltic Sea, a permanent situation report on "Border Security in the Baltic Sea Region", which is to serve as a common basis for future operations. The continued work will be carried out in close collaboration with the Baltic Sea Region Border Control Co-operation established in Helsinki in May 1997. 

 

5.3.5 Money laundering - Finland

The money laundering co-operation could be divided up in three different phases. Phase 1: Survey of the money laundering situation in the Baltic Sea countries. Phase II: Establishing the practical problems in the exchange of information and in the co-operation connected to money laundering investigations and tracing of proceeds from crime. Phase III would include concrete measures in relation to prevention of money laundering.

Phase I was concluded when a Baltic Sea Manual on Money Laundering and Asset Tracing was adopted by the Task-Force on 27 June 1997. In order to implement Phase 11 and detect the practical problems in the exchange of information connected to money laundering investigations and the tracing of proceeds specific cases were selected in most of the countries, in order to use the cases as "living examples". Four joint international expert meetings were held in Finland (25 November 1996, 15 May, 16-17 September and 19-20 November 1997).

At the meeting of 5 December the final report of Phase II of the money laundering project was presented for the Task-Force. The following conclusions and proposals were put forward.

The experts had found that there was a need for:

• Early exchange of information (including spontaneous information as described in Article 10 in the 1990 Strasbourg Convention on Money Laundering).

• Immediate answers to questions concerning whether persons or companies are already known in relevant contexts.

• All inquiries should be answered as soon as possible. If there are unexpected delays to be foreseen, the requesting country should be informed about the circumstances.

• Information on whether the information received form a basis for further investigation in the requested country. 

• If the informed/requested country finds either that it needs further information or that a mutual investigation is indicated it should send a description of all relevant facts in the case. This description should not be limited to a description of the suspected offence but should give details enough for the other country to decide whether requirements of dual criminality can be met even if the offence in that country is described in a different way.

• The country which seems to have the predicate offence should take over the coordination.

The experts found it useful if each country would be able to appoint contact persons or authorities which are authorized to promptly send (receive) information on the basis of an application. The information flow, as far as it relates to money laundering, should be forwarded via the contact persons.

The experts concluded finally that meetings like the Expert Meeting on Money Laundering and Asset Tracing were found to very valuable, not only for discussions of specific cases, but also on general discussions on the most effective way to cooperate.

The Task-Force agreed that the work should be continued on the basis of the identified needs. 

 

5.3.6 Baltic Sea Manual on Controlled Deliveries - Poland

The method of using controlled deliveries in the fight against drugs has more and more been used and has proven to be an efficient method. Therefore the Task-Force, at its meeting on 18 October 1996, agreed that a special survey concerning the status and the legal possibility of using controlled deliveries in the countries of the region should be made under the responsibility of Poland. At the meeting on 3 December 1996 it was furthermore decided that the material would be transformed into a manual. Poland assumed continued responsibility and the Manual was to be drafted in close co-operation with the experts from the Presidency of the European Union (Ireland). The Manual should also be made compatible with the Manual on controlled deliveries elaborated under the third pillar of the European Union. The final version of the Baltic Sea Manual on controlled deliveries was adopted on 4 April 1997. The manual serves as a practical tool in the implementation of controlled deliveries in the region. It is important that the facts are up to date and therefore the first version will be updated by the end of 1997. 

 

5.3.7 Conclusions

The Task-Force finds the result that six joint operations have been carried out in the region during 1997 to be an essential change in the co-operation in the region. The operations are unique as they are carried out for the first time in the region, but nevertheless, the Task-Force believes it is important to focus on two aspects, namely the methods used and the results achieved. 

The methods have been similar to methods used in operations carried out in other organisations such as EU and Schengen. The operations have mostly been on a large scale, and all countries have participated when relevant. Further to the actual seizures reported above, one of the important results is that the communication and exchange of information during the operations has been reported to be working well, specifically during the second round of operations.

Operations, with changing format and methods used, based on the needs and the actual situation, ought to be carried out also in the future.

 

5.4 Judicial co-operation

 

5.4.1 State of ratification of relevant international conventions - The Secretariat

At the suggestion of the European Commission and building on the work carried out in the framework of the P8, a list of important and relevant conventions in the fight against organized crime was established and accepted at the meeting on 18 October 1996. Since then the Task-Force has followed the state of ratifications every second meeting. The present list which was revised on 5 December 1997 is found in Annex 5.

 

 

5.4.2 Witness protection - Lithuania

The issue of witness protection has been on the agenda of the Task-Force since the second meeting in September 1996. There have been several discussions concerning the possibility of establishing both a witness protection programme and a witness protection fund in the region. There was early an agreement that questions concerning witness protection should be solved bilaterally and on an ad hoc basis. But in order to further assist in this process Lithuania accepted, at the meeting on 3 December 1996, the task as forerunner country for issues related to witness protection and was prepared to present a draft standard format for requests for assistance in cases concerning witness protection. Building on that proposal each country was requested to examine the national legal requirements of establishing some type of regional witness protection programme. The countries were also requested to indicate whether they would be prepared to participate or not.

Lithuania reported at the meeting on 4 April 1997 that there are no international organisations which have in their framework a convention which would regulate the co-operation of states in witness/victims protection programmes (only the EU Council Resolution of 23 November 1995 on Protection of Witnesses in the Fight against International Organized Crime could be mentioned). The legal situation in some of the countries narrows the possibility of participating in a Witness Protection Programme. According to Lithuania the basic problem of the Programme lies in its financing. Taking into account different economic capacities and possibilities of the states, the question regarding the organisation of an International Fund, which would provide financing in cases of international co-operation, is to be considered. 

At the meeting on 15 May 1997 Lithuania reported that four countries were at this stage willing to participate fully in a witness protection programme. Several issues were still unclear for many of the countries, and a number of questions needed answers, such as: How many actual requests for witness protection could be foreseen, based on the experience of the countries so far? Would it be only a few per year or several per month? What "type" of witnesses would be the most common? Are persons in custody totally excluded from the programme? A questionnaire was therefore prepared and circulated by Lithuania which provided the basis for an expert meeting on 11 September 1997 in Lithuania.

At the meeting of 31 October 1997 it was decided that a pilot project on witness protection now will be established in the Baltic Sea Region. All decisions concerning individual cases of receiving or sending witnesses will be taken on a bilateral level. For that reason a model agreement, which will serve as a basis for bilateral negotiations in specific cases, has been elaborated. In order to ensure the efficient handling of the pilot project an expert group under the chairmanship of Lithuania will monitor the development of the bilateral discussions.

All Baltic Sea countries are to participate in the expert group and the participation should not be subject to the readiness of entering into bilateral agreements. The expert group would rather serve as a focal point for exchanging and gathering information on the development of the bilateral agreements and the experiences/conclusions which can be drawn from this. In order to ensure a positive development of the project the development of the pilot project will from now on be a standing point on the agenda of the Task-Force. However, a final report of the pilot project should be presented to the Task-Force before the end of 1998 when the Task-Force would have to consider questions, such as whether a joint multilateral programme needs to be established (following the experiences gained from the pilot project) and the need for special funding.

The expert group met on 8 January 1998 in Vilnius and the final version of the model agreement was then adopted.

 

 

5.4.3 Co-operation between prosecutors of the Baltic Sea Region - Estonia and

Sweden

Building on a proposal from Sweden the Task-Force agreed at the meeting on 28 January 1997 that Sweden would seek to enhance the co-operation between the prosecutors of the region. Therefore, as a first step, the Swedish Prosecutor-General invited his colleagues in the region to a first Baltic Sea Prosecutor-General meeting on 3 April 1997. The main objective of that meeting was to identify bottle-necks in the present system of mutual assistance in criminal matters of the region and present practical proposals on how to overcome these. The Prosecutor-Generals came to the following conclusions:

CONCLUSIONS OF THE BALTIC SEA PROSECUTOR-GENERAL MEETING

The Prosecutor-Generals of the Baltic Sea Region met for the first time in Stockholm on 3 April 1997. In order to prepare an improved future co-operation in the field of judicial co-operation in the region the following was concluded.

- The Prosecutor-Generals of the Baltic Sea Region will meet again on 12 June 1997 in Tallinn, Estonia, in order to decide on the continued form of co-operation and the specific mandate for an expert group.

- Before the next meeting a detailed report on this meeting will be circulated.

- On the basis of the discussions held a draft mandate will be formulated and circulated before the next meeting.

- In order to consider establishing a Baltic Sea Manual/Handbook on mutual legal assistance and extradition a draft format will also be circulated before the next meeting in close collaboration with the European Union initiatives in this field.

- Sweden is prepared to take the responsibility for the preparations of the next meeting even if not held in Sweden.

 

Consequently the Prosecutor-Generals has met a second time in Tallinn on 12 June 1997. An expert working group was then formed with the main task to elaborate a Baltic Sea manual on mutual legal assistance. The manual is expected to be completed by the end of 1997. Estonia is chairing the expert group and Sweden is responsible for the Secretariat. The next meeting of the Prosecutor-Generals will be held in the beginning of 1998. 

 

5.4.4 Conclusions

The judicial co-operation has been successful in the sense that the new co-operation of the prosecutors of the region is now established and continued under the responsibility of the Baltic Sea Prosecutor Generals. The pilot project on witness protection gives a good basis for further work and during 1998 bilateral agreements will most probably be completed. Additional and complementary initiatives within the field of judicial cooperation should, however, be considered. 

 

5.5 Special surveys, training and other co-operation

 

5.5.1 Survey on ongoing bilateral/lmultilateral co-operation and assistance

A survey was prepared based on the replies from a questionnaire sent out by the Secretariat. The survey was completed and handed out at the meeting on 6 March 1997 in Warsaw. A fair amount of overlapping activities and duplication of efforts could be noted. It was suggested that information on changes and new projects should be provided continuously as long as the Task-Force exists. It was also suggested that the survey should be annexed to the report to the Heads of Government. Copies of the survey can be made available via the Task-Force Secretariat.

 

 

5.5.2 Overview of existing training programmes/assistance for law enforcement officers in the region - Denmark

Denmark prepared a questionnaire in order to get an overview of the actual needs and presented its report at the meeting on 3 December 1996. It was shown from the report that the general opinion among the personal representatives of the Task-Force was that that the present fora for co-operation are considered to be a satisfactory framework for long-term general training programmes. However, it was concluded that there was a need for seminars on practical, operational law enforcement issues. It was therefore decided that a series of such practical and operational seminars should be held. The first seminar was arranged by Denmark in Copenhagen on 8-9 April 1997 on issues concerning amphetamine in close co-operation with the two forerunners (Poland and Sweden). Similar seminars will be arranged according to the suggestions and wishes of the different countries during continued work of the Task-Force.

 

 

5.5.3 Proposals concerning illegal migration and trafficking of human beings Sweden

A first report about the situation concerning illegal migration and trafficking of human beings was presented on 18 October 1996. The report gave a brief description of the building up of the present co-operation between Eastern/Central European States and Western States on migration issues followed by a picture of the volume of illegal migration and trafficking of human beings. The report ended up with a presentation of the Budapest Process, which focuses on migration control and irregular movements of people.

At the meeting on 6 March 1997 Sweden presented a proposal on new methods of exchanging information on illegal migration and trafficking on human beings. The proposal was based on an already existing system worked out by the Inter Governmental Consultations on Asylum, Refugee and Migration Policies in Europe, North America and Australia (IGC).

IGC is an informal, non-decision making forum for information exchange and policy coordination between the following fourteen Governments: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. It was established in 1985 and has since 1991 an independent Secretariat, which is located in Geneva. UNHCR and IOM participate on an equal basis in the consultations.

In November 1996 the IGC Working Group on Trafficking of Aliens agreed on an antitrafficking model program including information exchange. By doing this, the IGC Trafficking Information Exchange System (TIES) became operational in four participating States (Belgium, Canada, Germany and the US). Six other states (Australia, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UK) agreed to join the system as soon as possible.

The objective of TIES is to provide information to officials of participating States which will enhance the understanding of patterns and trends in alien trafficking and will assist in assessing effective national and multilateral strategies and actions to combat alien trafficking as close to the country of origin as possible. To meet this objective the information needed should give participating States more knowledge about who is being trafficked, how they are being trafficked and who is trafficking them.

A seminar on the above explained model was held in Stockholm 12-13 June 1997. It was reported at the meeting of the Task-Force on 27 June 1997 that further discussions would be needed before countries could take a definite position regarding the model as a whole. A desire was felt for an exchange of information in definite cases of smuggling of human beings. During the course of the seminar it was decided that a new meeting should be arranged in the autumn of 1997. Participants had agreed on that a second meeting should have the following objectives:

- To analyze the situation in the Baltic Sea region regarding trafficking, mainly with regard to statistics.

- To discuss the ways in which participating countries wish to co-operate.

- To discuss the advantages of this kind of co-operation (IGC-model)

- To define the areas in which there is a need for common understanding and co-operation.

As a continuation an expert meeting was held in Riga on 27-28 November. It was then concluded that there was a need for an effective multilateral information exchange system on illegal migration and it was inter alia recommended that the following points would be the basis for the continued work:

• To establish, in addition to existing information exchange systems, a long term strategic system in the Baltic Sea Region.

• To follow the bilateral and multilateral trends of the trafficking of illegal migrants.

The Task-Force concluded that the experts should continue their work as recommended.

5.5.4 Projects presented to the Phare and Tacis Programmes of the European Union

A number of joint projects linked to the operative measures already initiated have been presented to the Phare Programme of the European Union for funding. Presently two major projects concerning amphetamine and money laundering are being considered by the Phare programme. The representative of the European Commission in collaboration with the Secretariat is assisting the countries of the region with issues regarding applications to and the procedures of the Phare programme.

In November 1997 the European Commission presented to the EU Member States a report of experts on the Justice and Home Affairs situation in the Newly Independent States. This report, together with a short communication of the Commission, will serve as a basis for future projects in the field of Justice and Home Affairs which will be financially supported by the TACIS programme.

 

 

5.5.5 Conclusions

The Task-Force concludes that under this area of co-operation new initiatives can be launched. However, there is also common agreement that the Task-Force should not in the near future initiate any new larger projects, but it should rather concentrate its efforts on fine tuning and the repetition of operations in order to further improve the co-ordination, the exchange of information and the overall result. In that work additional training efforts will be needed.

 

 

6. Bilateral co-operation

The Task-Force decided from the beginning that reports concerning bilateral cooperation and activities should be a standing point on the agenda. It has from those reports been concluded that the bilateral co-operation is a very important complement to the multilateral regional co-operation. Special Task-Force bilateral meetings have therefore also been carried out. 

 

7. Proposals for the future

 

We, the personal representatives of the Heads of Government, find that the mandate given to the Task-Force on Organized Crime in the Baltic Sea Region has established a unique working method, and made it possible to elaborate measures for immediate implementation and other concrete proposals to reinforce the regional co-operation in the fight against organized crime.

,We are convinced that our work must continue. The continuation of the work of the Task-Force will be a confirmation of the high political priority given to the fight against organized crime in the Baltic Sea Region.

We therefore unanimously recommend the Heads of Government to give the TaskForce a prolonged mandate for 1998.

Drawing on the experiences so far in the Task-Force the following proposal for a prolonged mandate is presented to the Heads of Government:

• The Task-Force consisting of the personal representatives of the Heads of Government will continue to meet on a regular basis during 1998.

• It is suggested that an Operative Committee (OPC) should be established. OPC will meet more frequently and report directly to the Task-Force. OPC should consist of competent and authorized law enforcement officers from concerned authorities in each Baltic Sea country as well as representatives of the European Commission and the Presidency of the European Union. OPC should have the following tasks: to propose further joint suitable measures to the Task-Force, to be in charge of the implementation of ongoing and future measures and serve as a multidisciplinary expert committee on operative issues.

The work will continue in accordance with the Objectives of the Task-Force adopted in September 1996, such as measures against illegal production and trafficking of narcotics and psychotropic substances, illegal migration and trafficking of human beings, trafficking of stolen vehicles, illegal trade in arms and radioactive material, smuggling of highly taxed goods, forgery of money and securities, money laundering and violent crimes. In addition, specific attention should in the continued work also be given to economic criminality and corruption.

Expert groups will be continued to be formed on an ad hoc basis to the extent needed.

 

 

ANNEX 1

LIST OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES

Denmark

Mr. Michael Lunn

Permanent Secretary of State for Justice

Ministry of Justice

Estonia

Mr. Eerik-Niles Kross

Director of Co-ordination

State Chancellery

Finland

Mr. Markku Pohjola

Member of Parliament

Parliament of Finland

Germany

Mr. Bernd Schmidbauer

Minister of State

Cabinet Office

Iceland

Mr. Gudmundur Jónsson

Former Supreme Court Judge

Prime Minister's Office

Latvia

Mr. Raimonds Blukis

Deputy State Secretary

Ministry of Interior

Lithuania

Mr. Gintaras Svedas

Vice Minister

Ministry of Justice

Norway

Mr. Bjorn Solbakken

State Secretary

Ministry of Justice

Poland

Mr. Ryszard Rychlik

Head of Division for Combat of Organized Crime

Public Prosecutor's Office, Ministry of Justice 

 

Russia

Mr. Sergej V. Stepashin

Minister of Justice

Ministry of Justice

Sweden

Mr. Pär Nuder

State Secretary

Prime Minister's Office

European Commission

Mr. Adrian Fortescue

Head of European Commission Justice and

Home Affairs Task Force

Presidency of the European Union

Depending on the Presidency

Ireland (1996), the Netherlands and Luxembourg (1997) 

 

 

ANNEX 2

OPENING SPEECH HELD BY THE PRIME MINISTER'S PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE, MR. PAR NUDER

STOCKHOLM, 13 JUNE 1996

Distinguished personal representatives, ladies and gentlemen.

The conclusions of the Visby summit on 3-4 May gave a very clear signal to all of the countries of the Baltic Sea region - together we could and should do much more in order to combat organized crime. That was the reason why the Heads of Government decided to set up a special task-force between the countries of the region.

I am therefore very pleased being able to welcome you all to Stockholm to a first consolidating meeting of this task force. I hope that the discussions this afternoon will be the beginning, in this forum, of an effective and concrete co-operation in the combat against organized crime. I furthermore hope that the discussions can be conducted in the same open mind and in the same spirit of co-operation as was the case at the Visby summit.

The rise of international organized crime in the region is a threat to the security of our citizens and a distracting factor in the relationship between our countries. This threat should not be accepted! In order to develop and make the region flourish strong trade and business relations are needed. Today several investors meet difficulties in opening new markets due to hindrance of organized crime. In order to establish our region as a strong actor in Europe and the world community as a whole these impediments have to be overcome. We shall be one step ahead of the criminals instead of behind.

I would like to revert to the presidency declaration of Visby in order to see what guidelines it can give us. It is stated that there is an "urgent need for direct and concerted action to combat organized crime". Furthermore, the task-force shall "elaborate measures for immediate implementation and other concrete proposals to reinforce the regional co-operation in this field". A number of questions can be raised from this statement, such as; What is the mandate of the task-force? What do we mean by organized crime? What is already being done by others and what needs to be added to that?

I do not have the answers to those questions, but during the last days I have been contemplating different possible roles for our group in order to give suggestions at this first meeting. I dare say that it has not been easy. Not easy, because I feel that we do not have many chances or much time to prove that we can achieve direct and concerted action. Furthermore, according to me, results should be shown long before the next Summit in 1997.

Having said that, I would like to point out that I do not believe that this is an impossible task. On the contrary! To my belief, what is firstly needed is to establish a clear and constructive link between us - i.e. the task-force - and other already existing co-operation in this and closely related fields. Already existing structures for co-operation and bilateral/multilateral co-operation in the region ought therefore to serve as a basis for our work. One of our goals could be to deepen and reinforce this existing co-operation. It is, furthermore, important that the measures are concrete and efficient and will become a natural part of the work of our different law enforcement agencies.

To give you some examples of existing co-operation I would like to mention the Baltic Sea Conference on Combating International Crime, which was held on 8-9 May in Helsinki. It was then decided that the co-operation should be made more operative and operative meetings will be held in 1997 in Russia and in 1998 in Estonia. What would happen during the rest of 1996 is not clear and maybe that could be a question for us to solve in co-operation with the representatives of the Baltic Sea Conference on Combating Crime. As probably known the Conference includes representatives from police, customs and border/coast guard.

A concrete result of the Baltic Sea Conference is the manual, which has just been updated and there is a draft new version available to you as your personal copy in the room. Another concrete result was the report which was presented at the meeting in Helsinki. There also copies of this in the room.

A second example is the special customs co-operation in the region. In 1995 a cooperation between the Customs administrations in the Baltic Sea region was established named Baltic Sea Customs Conference. A tangible result of the meeting was that the Norwegian Customs administration took on the work to analyze the current smuggling situation in the region. The outcome of this work will be presented in autumn this year.

Some structures also exist bilaterally and between smaller groups of countries. These are not known to all of us, and a survey of those maybe ought to be made. Experiences could also be drawn from the initiatives taken within the European Union and in particular under the Third Pillar. I also wish to mention the recently arranged so called CISCONF on several aspects of migration in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

The legislation and legal framework is different in the countries of the region, and possibly a study on this could be done in parallell with concrete joint measures. The more compatible the legislation is - the easier it would be to co-operate. Also here there might be initiatives and studies which have already been carried out and which could be fruitful to our work.

Moving to working methods, which we will also get back to during our discussions, I would like to make a few comments.

Our work ought to be as informal as possible in order not to end up in lengthy procedural discussions. Interpretation could be provided, as it is done today, but obviously it would be more efficient if we could speak directly to each other, without interpretation. Our law enforcement authorities should be involved in our work and we will, most probably, need to use experts from these authorities. I do not foresee a great number of written documents being exchanged between ourselves, but if so, those ought to be only in English, otherwise the process will be too slow.

We will at the next Baltic Sea States' Summit in 1997 have to present a report to the Heads of Government, but that should also be the only major report which we as a task-force need to produce. That report should, however, be filled with information on the concrete measures which we have taken in order to improve the combat against organized crime.

These were some of my ideas that I wanted to start the discussion with. Once again warmly welcome to Stockholm and this important meeting.

 

ANNEX 3 

 

Objectives of the Task-Force on Organized Crime in the Baltic Sea Region

Taking account of the agreement of the Heads of Government at the Baltic Sea States Summit, 3-4 May 1996 in Visby, on the urgent need for direct and concerted action to combat organized crime, it was decided to establish a task-force of personal representatives of the Heads of Government to elaborate measures for immediate implementation and other concrete proposals to reinforce the regional co-operation in this field.

The aim is that the countries in the region shall strengthen their ability to prevent and combat organized crime. This shall be carried out in close co-operation between the law enforcement agencies in each country, i.e. police, customs and coast/border guard and migration authorities. A prerequisite for this is an adequate and functioning judicial system with appropriate and well operating law enforcement institutions in the countries.

1 . The task-force shall concentrate its efforts on the combat against illegal production and trafficking of narcotics and psychotropic substances, illegal migration and trafficking of human beings, trafficking of stolen vehicles, illegal trade in arms and radioactive material, smuggling of highly taxed goods, forgery of money and securities, money laundering and violent crimes.

2. Already existing structures for co-operation and bilateral/multilateral co-operation in the region shall serve as a basis for the work. One of the goals is to deepen and reinforce this existing co-operation, not least in the area of judicial co-operation. It is, furthermore, important that the measures are concrete and efficient and will become a natural part of the operative work of the different law enforcement agencies.

3. Within the countries improved conditions for a cross-border exchange of information on relevant persons, subject-matters and events need to be developed.

4. The system of liaison officers shall be enhanced. The importance of developing special crime prevention measures in the region should be emphasized.

5. An immediate operative aim, which should be given high priority, is to improve the border arrangements, consistent with EU and Schengen obligations, in the countries in order to prevent cross-border organized crime.

6. Measures shall be taken in order to achieve a high level of ethics within law enforcement agencies and judicial authorities in the countries. Mutual training efforts, covering the whole range of law enforcement, shall be provided as one part in the creation of good conditions for the operations. The possibility of financial support from the Phare and Tacis programmes of the EU should urgently be explored.

 

ANNEX 4

Guidelines for the use of BALTCOM

 

BALTCOM will be used as a communication network in matters concerning combatting organized crime in the Baltic Sea Region. The following guidelines are applicable;

* Exchange of information will take place within the framework of national law and regulations in the countries involved, and with due respect to the legal protection of the individual. Exchange of information concerning individuals shall only take place on a bilateral basis between the countries involved in dealing with concrete, ongoing investigations.

* All information that can legally be released and is deemed necessary to combat actual and possible threats from organized crime in the Baltic Sea Region, should be transferred without undue delay or bureaucratic obstacles.

* Formal information intended for the use as evidence in trials before the court is still supposed to be requested through the channels established for these purposes.

 

 

BALTCOM should mainly be used for the following type of information;

• Messages regarding specific projects initiated by the law enforcement authorities in the Baltic Sea Region.

• Messages between Heads of operational units according to the Baltic Sea Manual.

• Information regarding serious criminal cases or cases linked to organized crime involving more than one country.

• Information concerning other incidents related to organized crime.

• Information concerning individuals or criminal organisations involved in organized crime.

 

 

 

 

Annex 5              

Task-Force on Organized Crime in the Baltic Sea Region -

State of ratification of important conventions

       
  Country 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14  
  Denmark Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Ongoing  
  Estonia Yes (p) Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes No  
  Finland Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes  
  Germany Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No No  
  Iceland Yes (p) No Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes  
  Latvia Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No  
  Lithuania No No- No No Yes Yes (p) Yes No Ongoing Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes  
  Norway Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes  
  Poland Yes (p) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Consider Consider  
  Russia Yes (p) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes S S No No    
                                 
  Sweden Yes No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes    
A. Conventions concerned with specific forms of criminality              
1 . Slavery convention, plus 1953 protocol, supplementary convention of 1956              
2. International convention for the suppression of counterfeiting currency              
3. International forced labour convention, Convention no. 29 of ILO              
4.

Convention for the suppression of the traffic in persons and, of the exploitation

of the prostitution of others

           
5.

Convention on the means of prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export

and transfer of ownership of cultural property

           
6. Single convention on narcotic drugs, Protocol of March 25, 1972              
7. Convention of psychotropic substances              
8.

International convention on mutual administrative assistance and repression of

customs offences.

             
9.

United Nations convention against illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic

substances

             
B.

Conventions governing procedures for judicial cooperation and mutual

assistance

             
10. European convention on extradition              
11. European convention on mutual assistance in criminal matters              
12. Convention on the international validity of penal judgements              
13. Convention on the transmission of proceedings in criminal matters              
14.

Convention on laundering, search, seizure and confiscation of the proceeds

from crime

             
Explanations: (p)=partly; S=signed; WS=will sign in 1997;