ANKARA - Turkish Directorate General of Security and the European Law Enforcement Organization (Europol) signed on Tuesday cooperation agreement.
In the signing ceremony held in Turkish capital Ankara, Gokhan Aydiner, the Director General of Security said that security forces should closely follow technological developments, renew itself and make national and international cooperation in order to fight against crimes and criminals.
Aydiner noted that crime gangs were using advanced technology to achieve their intentions and crimes had went beyond national limits and had international dimensions.
Stating that only one country's fight against terrorism and organized crime was not sufficient today , Aydiner said that international cooperation was obligatory.
Aydiner said, ''Europol is a law enforcement organization which handles criminal intelligence activities of the European Union (EU). Its aim is to improve the effectiveness and co-operation of the competent authorities in the Member States in preventing and combating serious forms of international organized crime.''
''Its mission is to assist the law enforcement authorities of Member States in their fight against serious forms of organized crime,'' Aydiner added.
Europol Director Juergen Storbeck stressed that cooperation in countering terrorism was very important for EU and world countries.
Storbeck said that terrorism was a global threat.
Cooperation was necessary to prevent terrorism and capture criminals, Storbeck noted.
Storbeck said that countries should also cooperate against illicit drug trafficking, human and arms trafficking, and forgery of valuable documents and credit cards.
They had established a data base for especially effective fight against drug trafficking, Storbeck pointed out.
Touching on new Europol projects, Storbeck hoped that Turkish Directorate General of Security would be included in new Europol projects covering illegal immigration and human trafficking in the East Mediterranean.
Storbeck said that Turkish police was exerting professional efforts in fighting against especially organized crime.
Stating that efforts of Turkish police constituted an example for bilateral cooperation agreements, Storbeck said that Turkey was a cornerstone in fight against organized crime and criminals.
Storbeck noted that they would have the opportunity to join experiences of Turkish police with Europol's facilities under the cooperation agreement.
Noting that Turkey was not an EU member country yet, Storbeck said that however, Europol considered Turkey equal to EU member countries in its projects.
(BRC-AÖ) 18.05.2004