Armenia to sign a document establishing legal scope of co-operation with Europol

On 7 February, within the scope of the working visit to the city of The Hague of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan met with Executive Director of Europol Catherine de Bolle at the headquarters of Europol.

Mrs. de Bolle gladly mentioned that, taking into consideration the significant progress that Armenia has made in a short period of time, the member states of the European Union have expressed their agreement on the proposal to sign a document establishing the legal scope of co-operation with Armenia within the scope of the mandate of Europol.

Afterwards, the Minister was introduced to the activities and functions of Europol, as well as the technical resources that the organisation uses in different situations.

Minister Badasyan introduced his colleagues to the reforms agenda of Armenia, focusing on the figures in the fight against corruption, as well as the vision and specific steps of the Government for the creation of specialised institutions, the criminal justice system and police reforms.

The colleagues of Europol welcomed the active involvement of EU structures during implementation of the sector-specific reforms.

During the visit, Rustam Badasyan was also introduced to the functions and role of Europol in the process of obtaining evidence under criminal cases from the member states of Europol, as well as in the spheres of money-laundering, financial investigations and return of assets. Specific steps for co-operation in each specified direction were considered with the competent authorities of Armenia.

The Minister of Justice and the Executive Director of Europol reached an agreement on the approximate time limits for signing of the document establishing the legal scope of co-operation between Armenia and Europol.

During the meeting, Rustam Badasyan invited Executive Director of Europol Catherine de Bolle to Armenia to consider new agreements for further co-operation.