POLICE-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF FIELD OPERATIONS SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE from the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) presented the EASO Guidance on contingency planning in the context of reception. An Italian expert presented the Italian model in managing the migration crisis; • On 18 and 19 October, at the third roundtable meeting, participants worked on and presented the first draft of a National Contingency Plan on Migration; • On 11 and 12 December, the Mission, together with the EASO, organized a fourth roundtable meeting on the development of an Overarching National Contingency Plan on Migration in cases of large migrant flows. The Mission provided a chronological presentation about the development of the entire process, starting from March 2018. Apart from the compilation of this draft document, the relevant ministries and state bodies started preparing information for the government, serving to inform the government about the adoption process of the Contingency Plan, and request further guidelines for the formalization of the joint endeavours to have the Contingency Plan adopted. From 29 to 31 May, the Mission, in co-operation with the MoI Training Centre, organized initial training on combating THB. This training course was part of comprehensive support of the Mission to the newly established National Unit for Combating Smuggling of Migrants and Human Trafficking Task Force. The aim of the training was to establish a training platform on THB from the law enforcement perspective. Experts from the National Police of Spain and Nebrija University in Madrid highlighted best international practices in combating THB and presented the latest contemporary trends related to THB and illegal migration. Lecturers from the MoI Training Centre delivered a training session on the standard operating procedures and on awareness of THB. A total of 21 trainees from the Task Force provided a significant contribution to the overall training, by actively participating and interacting. From 2 to 6 July, the Mission, in co-operation with the EASO, organized a working visit to Italy for ten selected personnel from the Task Force for Combating THB, the Sector for Asylum and Border Police, and the Ministry of Labour. The aim of the visit was to introduce the delegation with the procedures and best practices applied by the Italian authorities and obtain information about the support the Italian authorities receive from the EU and international organizations present on Italian territory. International partners, such as the EASO and UNHCR, were visited in Rome, in addition to visits conducted with the Italian police and civil authorities responsible for managing the migration flow and asylum procedures. The participants visited the city of Trapani in Sicily, where the delegation was briefed about the entire migrant arrival process, starting with the disembarkation of the migrants until their transfer to Reception Centres for Asylum Seekers (Hubs), such as one the delegation visited in the city of Mineo. In Catania, the delegation visited the European Union Regional Task Force (EURTF), where representatives from Frontex, Europol, the Italian Coast Guard, State Police, Financial Police, Italian Marine and the EASO work together on the investigation, fingerprinting and identification, the fight against illegal migration, and the detection of THB victims and of FTFs. Border Security and Management / Customs From 12 to 13 June, the Mission hosted the South East Europe Regional Workshop for Police and Customs Co-operation Centres (PCCCs) in Strumica. Border Police officers, co-ordinators working in the PCCCs and other relevant stakeholders from seven countries in the region attended the event. Experts from the TNTD/BSMU, Frontex, the German Federal Police and the Slovenian police provided advice on effective working practices, legal mechanisms and problemsolving in the exchange of real-time data, as well as the latest developments in the Europe-wide PCCC network. PCCCs have been supported by the Mission and the OSCE Secretariat as an effective mechanism to foster inter-agency, regional and Europe-wide co-operation as part of the Integrated Border Management concept, to enhance border security and counter the threats of terrorism and transnational organized crime. From 16 to 27 July, under the OSCE ExB project, “Reduction of the Risk for Proliferation of Weapons and Ammunition in the Republic of North Macedonia”, the Mission, together with the representatives of the MoI and experts from a design company, conducted field visits to 16 Border Police armouries developing project construction designs. The following locations were visited: the RCBA Kavadarci, the Border Police Station (BPS) Blace, BPS Bogorodica, BPS Makedonska Kamenica, BPS Markova Noga, BPS Matejche, BPS Mazdraca, BPS Mihajlovo, BPS Pelince, BPS Rogachevo, BPS Sopot, BPS Tanushevci, BPS Vitolishte and BPS Zirovnica. During these field visits, security and ICT upgrade design was elaborated upon by the participants, which later on served as a basis for the procedure to procure construction and ICT work. On 1 August, the Mission organized an event to debrief the participants involved in the implementation of the field visits. The participants discussed in depth the conditions and necessary security updates on the 16 sites (armouries) that were visited. The experts involved in the field visits will summarize the results in a report. 103