Britain to head Albanian police mission

TIRANA, Feb. 25 – Britain’s Home Office said Monday they would lead the new European Union’s Police Assistance Mission to Albania, in partnership with the Albanian government.
“The Mission will work with the Albanian police to deal with the threat from organized crime in the country, reduce the threat to the United Kingdom and other EU Member States, and helping to improve Albanians’ confidence in their police service,” read the Home Office statement.
Crime networks based in Albania pose a direct criminal threat to Europe and the UK, especially organized criminal activity such as prostitution networks and human trafficking.
“Our successful bid to lead the EU Police Mission to Albania demonstrates the UK Government’s continuing commitment to tackle crime at its source and support other countries to tackle criminality,” said Tony McNulty, the British Minister for Counter Terrorism and Policing.
“The Mission to Albania will enable us to build on our commitment to help the Albanian authorities address this issue and is of great importance to both the UK and the EU,” he added.
The Mission, known as PAMECA, will be fully funded by the European Commission and will have a budget of 5.5 million Euros over the next three years. The previous mission expired at the end of December and had been overseen by the German Interior Ministry.
PAMECA is a fully funded project of the European Commission and has existed in differing forms since 1997 by providing strategic advice and specialized technical training to help the Albanian State Police with its crime prevention, battle organized crime and terrorism, and border management efforts.