​On September 14 2015 in Holesov – Czech Republic – the opening ceremony of the 21 CEPA Special Course “Cross-Border Co-Operation on Compensatory Measures and on Border Actions” took place

The responsible leader of the course, Mr. Leos Brada, Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic welcomed warmly the participants in their first week of the course and wished them successful and productive studies. The Director of the Police Region of Zlin, Colonel Tkadlecek and the Deputy Director of the Police School of Holešov, Colonel Rohal stressed the importance of the international co-operation on this topic, given the fact that the migration flows into Europe seem to be continuously without an end in sight. The representative of the Czech Republic praised the role of the CEPA in the context of advanced police training within the training landscape in Europe. The representative of the Central Coordination Office of Austria, Mr. Tober, and the representative of the National Liaison Office of the CEPA – Hungary, Colonel Feher, welcomed the participants as well; both expressed their thanks to the course organizers of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic. The specific significance of this training, which has to be considered unique in Europe, was highlighted in their addresses. The current migration flows led specifically to a huge increase in the areas of trafficking in human beings and human smuggling, thus an international co-operation is indispensable. The 18 participants, originating from the 7 Member States of the CEPA will be made familiar with the various operational methods as well as the working culture of the police organizations in the locations Holesov, Bad Endorf, Ljubljana and Budapest. Lecturers from Switzerland, the Slovak Republic and Austria will give presentations in close co-operation with the national specialists on the topic of border issues. Legal and international regulations will encompass the theoretic part of the programme. The participants will also be made familiarised with the operative proceedings by the means of excursions and practical exercises in the individual Member States which carry out this course. Furthermore, several workshops will be organized for the participants. The workshops will be conducted by Benno Sigg, Akim Yazici and Rene Döhla, and are split into three topics resp. issues. These lecturers will instruct and tender advice to the course participants during the duration of the course. At the end of the course, which is scheduled for the 9 October 2015 in Budapest, the participants have to present the results and the findings of their workshops in front of an expert panel. The written work will be made available for information purposes on the CEPA-Homepage.