The Stockholm Programme of the European Commission states that: 
 
An internal security strategy should be developed in order to further improve security in the Union and thus protect the lives and safety of European citizens and tackle organised crime, terrorism and other threats
 
While the protection of citizens from terrorist threats should be actively fought, many Europeans are aware that the damage that organised crime has on society it is as devastating as a terrorist plot. Organised crime is often entangled with local and national politics and it hinders the economic and social development of several member states. Achieving a climate of legality and respect for the rule of law is an indispensable requirement not only for personal security, but for social development, too. With networks of organised crime have assumed more and more a transeuropean dimension, discussion is needed to come up with actions to fight local and transnational mafias  and to (re)establish the rule of law at every level of social, economic and political life.
 
The mafias have fully taken up the opportunities arising from the Single Market and a borderless Schengen area.  The anti-mafia movement, as well as the work by the police and judiciary forces, have been less effective in maximising the benefits of a united Europe to respond to the expanding tentacles of the mafias in Europe.
 
This forum wishes to introduce one practical example of the transnational expansion and domination by Italian criminal organisations in Europe. The management of waste (and toxic waste in particular) by the Italian mafias across Europe will be presented as a paradigmatic example of the Europeanisation of the mafia and its effects on the economy, on society, on the environment, corruption and on local politics.
 
As well as presenting a case-study, the forum would like to propose some of the possible solutions that could be adopted around Europe to fight the mafias in a more effective way. Confiscation of goods and properties illicitly acquired by organised crime groups is a tool used by several countries, but not everywhere in Europe. Furthermore, making these goods become “public property” to be used for social purposes, as the Italian law legislates, could be proposed as a model for other EU member-states.
 
Programme for the day
 
The objective of the day is to create a coalition of organizations and individuals, ready to collaborate and undertake coordinated actions to call for a common strategy around Europe to fight organized crime. This could take the shape of a “European Citizenship Initiative” on confiscation or an organized campaign to put pressure on those EU countries who still have to ratify the Framework Decision 2006/783 by the European Council, entirely based in confiscation as a countermeasure against organized crime.
 
The day will start with a presentation of the case-study on the expansion of organized crime groups in Europe, with a particular focus on toxic waste management. The documentary “Toxic Europe”, the winner of the "Best international Organised Crime Report (BIOCR)" award 2011, a section of Premio Ilaria Alpi ,will be broadcasted as an introduction to the topic.
 
The morning will continue with a presentation of different models of confiscation laws around Europe.  
 
In the afternoon, participants will split in working groups which will discuss the possibility of running a common campaign or a common action across Europe to raise awareness or to propose solutions about this issues. One group will develop a first draft of a possible policy proposal; another group will discuss which members of the national and European Parliaments to approach to take this forward and how to develop a strategy in this direction. A third group would design communication strategies to reach a European public opinion through traditional media as well as social networks.
 
More details on the agenda and on the participants to the forum will be available shortly. 
 
Logistics

Hotel accommodation in Sofia will be provided if necessary for international participants. Travel expenses will be covered up to 75% of airfare cost. We ask international participants to book their own flights, searching for best value fares and to consult us on air fares. On the day of the conference we will distribute reimbursement forms. If this system is inconvenient to you, you can write to us. Please make sure to keep your boarding passes to be reimbursed!
 
Contacts
 
For questions on the program and to confirm your attendance, please contact Alessandro Valera, a.valera@euroalter.com
 
For questions related to your travel and accommodation please contact Federico Guerrieri, f.guerrieri@euroalter.com 
 
For questions in Bulgarian, please contact Rosen Dimov, rosen.dimov@flarenetwork.org

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