On 24 November 2021, at the invitation of Europol, Mr. Pranab Kumar Das, WCO Director for Compliance and Facilitation, and Mr. Stefan Kirsch, WCO Deputy Director for Compliance and Enforcement, participated in a high-level meeting with Europol, led by the latter’s Deputy Executive Director, Mr. Jean-Philippe Lecouffe.

The aim of the meeting was to discuss the outcomes of the Second Action Plan implementation, which had been concluded between both Organizations for 2020 and 2021 based on the joint Co-operation Agreement, with a view to strengthening mutual cooperation.

The meeting was also aimed at discussing and signing off on the details for implementation of the Third Action Plan for 2022 and 2023. Cooperation will focus mainly on the two Organizations’ enforcement efforts in certain areas of Customs crime such as excise fraud, IPR infringements, drug smuggling, environmental crime, illicit firearms trafficking, money laundering and terrorism financing.

There are also plans for both Organizations to invite each other to attend various events and meetings, participate in operational and capacity-building activities, contribute and share strategic documents and reports, and provide access to each other’s networks. Other cooperation activities will also be explored, such as possible involvement in each other’s efforts to fight Customs-related commercial/revenue fraud.

The next joint high-level meeting is scheduled to take place at the end of 2022, with a view to officially assessing implementation of the Third Action Plan and to setting priorities for 2023.