The European Union/Council of Europe Joint Programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” is a co-operation modality developed by the Council of Europe and the EU to support compliance of Beneficiaries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo^*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Türkiye) with European standards and the EU acquis in the areas covered by the Facility. Under the first and second phase of the Horizontal Facility, support was provided to assist the Beneficiaries in bringing their policies, institutions and practices further in line with the recommendations of the Council of Europe monitoring bodies and European standards. Efforts to further support the Beneficiaries in implementing sufficient reforms towards compliance with European standards and the EU acquis in the areas of rule of law, democracy and human rights, will continue under the third phase of the Horizontal Facility which begun on 1 January 2023 and will last until 31 December 2026. 

Within the third phase of the Horizontal Facility, Action against Economic Crime in the Republic of North Macedonia will strengthen the capacity of the institutions in preventing and combating economic crime, including corruption, money laundering and organized crime, by focusing on the following objectives: 

1. Improved legal and operational framework on preventing and combating corruption;
2. Enhanced anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) prevention mechanisms; and
3. Enhanced capacities of authorities to conduct financial investigations.
    

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*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.}