Representatives from seven jurisdictions of the Western Balkans and Turkey met in Skopje on 29-30 January 2019 to discuss “Effective implementation of targeted Financial Sanctions”. The first day of the Regional Workshop focused on requirements set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Standards, United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions, and European Union (EU) sanctioning regimes and their meaning for jurisdictions represented at the Workshop. Discussions included elements of the sanctioning system that each jurisdiction needs to have, as well as on developing improvements to current practices and processes already in place. On the second day, the main theme was on the practical aspects of freezing assets and enhancing national coordination mechanisms. Representatives of the participating jurisdictions were keen in learning the steps that would need to be taken to effectuate the sanction in each case, and at the same time ensure that the rights of individuals affected by any freezing measures are respected. The discussions led to mapping out next steps for individual countries and the region, as well as the possibilities for cross-border cooperation in this respect.

The event was organised thanks to the EU/CoE Horizontal Facility Action against Economic Crime and the EU/CoE Project against Economic Crime in Kosovo* (PECK II).