Former-Secretary of State Colin Powell, together with his colleagues, Foreign Ministers Meta, Picula and Mitreva, signed the Adriatic Charter in Tirana, Albania, May 2, 2003. Underlines Albania's, Croatia's, and Macedonia's dedication to strengthening their individual and cooperative efforts to intensify domestic reforms that enhance the security, prosperity and stability of the region. MORE>>

— The charter has no website page | Adriatic Charter Factsheet from the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State, August 25, 2011: TEXT

The EU began as a purely economic union in 1958, when the European Economic Community (EEC) was established to increase economic cooperation between Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. In 1993, the name change from the EEC to the European Union and the organization began focusing on many more areas in addition to economic cooperation. Today, the EU is an economic and political partnership between 28 countries that together cover much of the European continent.

FRONTEX (European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union)

Based in Warsaw and intelligence driven, Frontex is the EU agency created as a specialised and independent body tasked to coordinate the operational cooperation between Member States in the field of border security.

» Fundamental Rights Training for Border Guards: PDF

EUFOR (EU military operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Operation EUFOR ALTHEA)

On The military operation ALTHEA in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) was launched on 2 December 2004 and has contributed to the maintenance of the safe and secure environment in BiH ever since. The launch of Operation ALTHEA followed the decision by NATO to conclude its SFOR operation and the adoption by the UN Security Council of Resolution 1575 authorising the deployment of an EU Force (EUFOR) in BiH. Operation ALTHEA is carried out with recourse to NATO assets and capabilities.

» EUFOR Fact Sheet: PDF

EUROPOL (European Union’s law enforcement agency)

Europol assists the European Union’s Member States in their fight against serious international crime and terrorism. The agency uses its unique information capabilities and the expertise of its staff to identify and track the most dangerous criminal and terrorist networks in Europe and carries out over 18 000 cross–border investigations each year.

» European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) — The Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (iOCTA) 2014: PDF

NATO is an alliance of 28 countries mainly from North America and Europe committed to fulfilling the goals of the North Atlantic Treaty, which was signed on April 4, 1949. The organization's essential purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.

» SFOR (Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina): This operation was brought to a successful end on December 2, 2005. The link gives you access to the archive of information relating to SFOR, which was launched in January 1996.

» KFOR (The Kosovo Force): Under the authority granted by of UNSC Resolution 1244, NATO has been leading a peace support operation in Kosovo since 12 June 1999 in support of wider international efforts to build peace and stability in the area.

OSCE is a regional security organization whose 55 participating States are from Europe, Central Asia and North America. The OSCE has been established as a primary instrument for early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation under Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations. The OSCE addresses a wide range of security-related issues including arms control, preventive diplomacy, confidence- and security building measures, human rights, election monitoring and economic and environmental security.

» Activities > Arms Control. OSCE's field operations help to stop the spread of Cold War era surplus weapons and offers assistance with their destruction.

» Activities > Military Reform and Cooperation. OSCE undertakes practical activities to assist States in reforming their legislation; downsizing and/or conversion of their armies; training personnel on the rights of the servicemen and humanitarian law; and other areas related to military reform are conducted by the OSCE field operations, as well as the Conflict Prevention Centre (CPC).