Beneficiaries in the Western Balkans (WB) coming from the ministries of justice, prison and probation system and prevention and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) coordinators reiterated their commitment to strengthen safety and security in the WB region, looked back at the accomplishments of the regional action “Enhancing co-operation in the Western Balkans in managing violent extremism in prisons and preventing further radicalisation after release” and unanimously supported the project workplan for the next six months at the 2^nd Steering Committee meeting held on 17 October 2023 in Skopje, North Macedonia.

The Head of the Council of Europe Programme Office in Skopje, the WB Regional advisor on counter terrorism/security of the EU Delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Programme Manager from European Commission (DG NEAR), welcomed the Steering Committee Members and the observers,  and reiterated importance of the role that the penal systems have in preparing violent extremist prisoners (VEPs) for return to normal life after release in the local community, importance of cooperation between correctional services and other agencies and stakeholders in preparing local communities to accepting former prisoners and assisting their reintegration.

Steering Committee members took the opportunity to highlight many challenges in the field of prevention and addressing radicalisation and violent extremism in prison environment, among which are the much-needed mechanisms of pre-release and exit programmes for VEPs and mechanisms of post-penal support alike, improvement of conditions for ‘whole of society approach’ in prevention and countering radicalisation and violent extremism. The project will be addressing these challenges together with Beneficiaries, complementing the efforts of other international partners in this field in the Western Balkans.

The 2nd Steering Committee was organised as an integral part of the Regional Network of National CT/CVE Coordinators (RNNC) of the Western Balkans  Meeting and the regional meetings of the international partner organizations IOM and GIZ.