4.6 Mission to Skopje Border Security and Management / Customs On 1 and 2 April, in co-operation with the National Coordination Centre for Border Management, the Mission organized a workshop in Skopje on “Enhancing intelligence capacities of the National Co-ordination Centre for IBM and Regional counterparts” for 45 representatives from the Border Police, CA, other IBM national co-ordination centres as well as from Albania, BiH, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo and Romania. During the workshop, participants discussed issues related to inter-agency rivalry and successful co-operation, differing national legislations in relation to carrying illegal immigrants in road freight, integrity and drug testing, covert investigation techniques in relation to corruption of officials, and solutions to aid heavy goods vehicle drivers and vehicle security. At the conclusion of the workshop, participants agreed on the need to adopt a regional approach to joint risk analysis in regard to border security, to establish an anti-corruption hotline at BCPs, and to apply integrity testing of border control officials including vetting of officials, especially of those dealing with sensitive material. Participants also agreed to submit these recommendations to their respective domestic agencies for approval. On 21 and 22 May, the Mission organized a third regional workshop in Struga on “Police-Customs Co-operation Centres (PCCC) in the SEE region”, focusing on the interagency joint staffing of PCCCs and their enhanced cooperation in countering cross-border criminality. A total of 26 representatives from the Border Police, CA and representatives from Albania, BiH, Bulgaria, Greece and Kosovo participated in the workshop. The event provided an effective platform for the exchange of best practice as well as opportunity to discuss future activities in the region. Experts from the Mission, Secretariat, Frontex, German Federal Police and French Customs delivered presentations during the workshop. From 14 to 16 October, in co-operation with the Regional Centre for Border Affairs West and Customs House in Bitola, the Mission organized an exercise in and around BCP Kjafasan and the adjacent ‘green border’. The exercise consisted of a role-play simulation to test inter-agency cooperation protocols of the Border Police and CA, using modified real-life examples of people smuggling, drugs and cultural artefact trafficking as well as stolen vehicles. The exercise was observed by senior customs and police managers and, in the final plenary session, discussed best practice and solutions. The exercise demonstrated the level of inter-agency co-operation at the BCP, with support from the Police Station for Border Surveillance Frangovo and Customs Mobile Team, supplemented also by a drug detection dog. 98 From 7 November to 10 December, the Mission organized awareness campaigns in all eight regional Sectors for Interior on the role of PCCCs for 200 senior and lower-ranking officers. These events aimed at encouraging police officers in the MoIA’s Bureau for Public Security to use the PCCCs as a resource aid in their work. PCCCs are designed to make more efficient use of time and resources when addressing crossborder crimes, such as traffic offences and minor criminal investigations. Other In April, the MoIA approved SOPs for the safe storage and handover of the armament within the MoIA, developed under the Mission project “Reduction of the Risk for Proliferation of Weapons and Ammunition in the Republic of North Macedonia”, funded by the EU and German Government. From May to June, following the enforcement of SOPs, in cooperation with the MoIA, the Mission developed a training curriculum and training modules for MoIA staff to assist them in the implementation of new security regulations. The materials included a manual for delivering staff training on implementing the regulations as well as including supporting documents for delivering training (such as action plan), learning tasks, curriculum and agenda. In November, the Mission organized a ToT on SALW in the MoIA training centre in Idrizovo for 59 police officer trainers. During the same month, the jointly developed training curriculum was incorporated into the MoIA’s basic and continuous national training curricula. The incorporation of the curriculum ensured institutionalization and was an example of the project’s sustainability.