The awareness sessions, held in May and June, were organized by the National Center for the Prevention of Violent Extremism (CNPVE) in cooperation with the OSCE Presence in Albania and the State Police.

The initiative is part of Albania’s 2023–2025 national strategy to counter violent extremism and terrorism, focusing on frontline responders. The sessions aimed to equip officers with the tools to detect early signs of radicalization and to apply rapid and coordinated referral protocols.

“Building a sustainable prevention culture requires strengthening police capacity to respond professionally and sensitively to extremism threats,” said Lejdi Dervishi, Albania’s National Coordinator for Countering Violent Extremism at the Ministry of Interior.

The training also emphasized community engagement, highlighting trust-building with vulnerable groups as key to early prevention. Inter-institutional cooperation through regional referral mechanisms was also covered.

The CNPVE plans to expand similar training to other regions in 2025, aiming to establish a national network to identify and address risks linked to radicalization and violent extremism.

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At a joint press conference with the Interior Minister Taulant Balla, the Deputy Director-General at Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, Johannes Luchner, renewed a statement that was issued during proceedings of the regional and EU Home Affairs Ministerial in the framework of the Berlin Process in Tirana on Thursday.

“During the Ministerial, I and my colleagues congratulated Albania and Interior Minister Balla for the achievements, because it is certainly a good thing that we come together at a conference and discuss such issues, but it is much better when we see results are yielded. Fighting organized crime is and will remain a top priority for the European Union, which means that this fight will be the core of EU’s political program,” Luchner said.

“Our partners in the Western Balkans are extremely important allies in the area of law enforcement and in the fight against organized crime,” the senior EC official said.

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