The investigation and prosecution of suspected export control violations - building capacity in South East Europe

Since 2005 South East European states have been developing and introducing dual-use control legislation based on EU standards. Now that all States have implemented this legislation they are now working towards it’s effective enforcement.

In partnership with the United States’ Department of State, SIPRI implemented a project to enhance the capacity of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia to enforce their national export control laws.

Project activities were held during 2008 and 2009 and were tailored to the needs of each state. The activities included some or all of the following elements:

• The development of analytical tools and databases to assist licensing and enforcement officers;
• The sharing of experience and good practice by EU investigators and prosecutors;
• The delivery of specialised seminars by teams of EU investigators and prosecutors; and
• study visits to EU Member States by officials from partner countries for “peer-to-peer” discussions with EU colleagues.