Declaration by the High Representative Federica Mogherini on behalf of the EU on strikes in Syria

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Maja Kocijančič: EEAS spokesperson; +32 2 298 65 70; +32 498 98 44 25

The European Union reiterates its strongest condemnation of the repeated use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime, as confirmed by the OPCW/UN Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) and as reported continuously in recent months in Eastern Ghouta and other areas in Syria, including the most recent reports of a devastating chemical attack on Douma.

In this context, the EU was informed about targeted US, French and UK airstrikes on chemical weapons facilities in Syria, these specific measures having been taken with the sole objective to prevent further use of chemical weapons and chemical substances as weapons by the Syrian regime to kill its own people.

The EU is supportive of all efforts aimed at the prevention of the use of chemical weapons. It finds it deeply shocking that the international community is still confronted with the use of chemical weapons, as confirmed by the OPCW Fact Finding Mission. The reports of the Declaration Assessment Team show that the Syrian declaration cannot be fully verified as accurate and complete in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Accountability is a must. The use of chemical weapons or chemical substances as weapons is a war crime and a crime against humanity. Perpetrators will be held accountable for this violation of international law. Therefore, the EU deeply regrets that the mandate of the JIM, established by UNSC Resolution 2235 (2015) to identify perpetrators of chemical attacks, has not been renewed in November 2017. In this respect, it is highly regrettable that the UN Security Council has so far failed to adopt a strong resolution re-establishing an independent attribution mechanism to ensure accountability for perpetrators of chemical weapons’ attacks in Syria.

In July 2017 and in March 2018, the EU imposed additional restrictive measures on Syrian high-level officials and scientists for their role in the development and use of chemical weapons and is always ready to consider imposing further measures as appropriate.

The EU calls upon all countries, notably Russia and Iran, to use their influence to prevent any further use of chemical weapons, notably by the Syrian regime, and supports the International Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons.

The EU reiterates that there can be no other solution to the Syrian conflict than political. We have a common goal in preventing any escalation of violence that could transform the Syrian crisis into a wider regional confrontation, with incalculable consequences for the Middle East and indeed the whole world. The EU calls upon all parties to the conflict, especially the regime and its allies, to implement immediately the ceasefire, and to ensure humanitarian access and medical evacuations as unanimously agreed in UNSC Resolution 2401. The EU repeats that any sustainable solution to the conflict requires a genuine political transition in line with UNSCR 2254 and the 2012 Geneva Communique negotiated by the Syrian parties within the UN-led Geneva process.

The Second Brussels Conference on Syria which will be held on 24-25 April 2018, co-chaired by the EU and the UN, will be the opportunity for the entire international community to relaunch its consistent support for the political process and commit new pledges to help the main victims of this ongoing conflict, namely the Syrian people inside and outside Syria.

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Indicative programme – Agriculture and Fisheries Council, 16 April 2018

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Zagaria clan leader apprehended in Romania

13 April 2018

Yesterday, during the early morning hours, a joint operation was conducted by the Italian and Romanian police and the competent judicial authorities of the Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism –Buzau Territorial Service and Pitesti Territorial Service, and by the District Antimafia Prosecutor of Naples in a complex and lengthy organised crime investigation concerning a powerful, well-established mafia-style transnational criminal association.

In Italy, the investigation was led by the Italian DIA (Direzione Investigativa Antimafia) under the leadership of the Prosecutor’s Office of Naples.

Eurojust provided continuous support in coordinating the investigations and enhancing the judicial cooperation procedures to identify the location of a key member of the criminal group (camorra) and its assets.

According to the Italian investigation, the prime suspect and his Italian accomplices have, for many years, been laundering in Romania the proceeds of crime of a powerful criminal ‘family’, the well-known Italian clan, Zagaria, the criminal activities of which have generated a financial empire over the last 30 years and have adversely affected a large area of southern Italy, using systematic extortion and corruption of public officials, and have altered and influenced the voting in the local elections.

The suspect, who has now been arrested in execution of an Italian European Arrest Warrant, was a trusted member of this criminal organisation, able to set up numerous commercial companies and business activities in Romania to launder millions of euro for the criminal organisation.

He also ensured – via fictitious transactions – the repatriation of laundered funds to Italy to sustain the numerous members of the criminal ‘family’ currently in detention. Funds were provided to the families of those in detention to prevent their cooperation with law enforcement and judicial authorities.

The success of this very sensitive operation was made possible due to the active role of both the Italian and the Romanian Desks at Eurojust, through several coordination meetings at Eurojust, during which the information was shared in a timely manner and the procedural measures were prepared so that they could be executed in a coordinated and efficient way. The coordination meetings, chaired jointly by the National Members of Italy and Romania, brought together both the Italian PPO of Naples and its Romanian counterpart from DIICOT Buzau, as well as police representatives of the Italian DDA and their Romanian counterparts.

The Italian and the Romanian Desks at Eurojust also provided crucial advice on the application of judicial cooperation procedures for freezing properties in accordance with FD 577/2003 based the principle of mutual recognition, only recently implemented in Italian legislation.

Thursday’s operation resulted in the total disruption of the financial empire that had supported this criminal organisation.

A huge amount of illegal assets have been seized in Romania for possible future confiscation. The complexity of the illicit profits that have been seized will require an accurate estimation of their value to determine the total amount of goods frozen by the Romanian authorities at the request of the Italian judicial authorities.