Polen organiseert workshop over bestrijding van terrorismefinanciering (en)

On 22-23.11. European Union - Gulf Cooperation Council Workshop on combating terrorist financing took place.

Such meetings had been organized before by the EU Member States holding the presidency at the EU Council (last one in 2009). Poland undertook an initiative to return to the formula of those meetings, where competent experts in the field of combating terrorist financing and countering terrorism are dealing with issues of implementation of international recommendations issued by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) organization affiliated with the OECD; namely are addressing urging problems in combating terrorist financing, exchanging experience and finding conclusions concerning possibilities of further cooperation between the UE and the GCC. Undertaking that forum the Presidency met declarations from both sides on their support to the initiative, because of a neuralgic moment to give a new impetus to this cooperation.

During the Warsaw workshop the 110 delegates from 26 states representing different law enforcement authorities conducted a main tasks of the workshop by raising their knowledge on a partners’ activities, exchanging experiences, expressing an interest in the future meetings seen as a continuation of the review of policies and practice of counteracting the financing of terrorism.

This year, commonly defined topics were like follows: regional strategies in fighting financing of terrorism, misuse of official and informal channels of funds transfers for the purposes of terrorist financing, controls of cash movements through frontiers and fight against its smuggling, application of international financial sanctions imposed in connection with combating terrorism financing as well as international and domestic procedures to that regard, and a separate session on chosen by the European states topics to present their own experiences. Those topics were completed by discussion on how to enhance and tighten mutual cooperation. As an outcome of the discussions there has been prepared a common draft of declaration on further cooperation with introduction of certain institutional solutions in experts’ working contacts in the field of fighting financing terrorism. Both the importance of the topics and the needs expressed by particular institutions represented at the workshop generated some proposals to adjust the formula of the meetings in the future.