Strasbourg, 19 September 2025 (MIA) – Sixteen European countries, including North Macedonia, signed the Third Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters on Friday in the Maltese capital of Valletta, the Council of Europe said. 

The protocol was signed as part of an Informal Conference of Ministers of Justice in Valletta, Malta, it adds. 

In addition to the country, the protocol was signed by Belgium, United Kingdom, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Türkiye, Ukraine, Switzerland and Sweden. 

The European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters is a 1959 document aimed at achieving greater unity among members of the Council of Europe by adoption of common rules in the field of ​​mutual assistance in criminal matters and the question of extradition.  

"The Contracting Parties undertake to afford each other, in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, the widest measure of mutual assistance in proceedings in respect of offences the punishment of which, at the time of the request for assistance, falls within the jurisdiction of the judicial authorities of the requesting Party. This Convention does not apply to arrests, the enforcement of verdicts or offences under military law which are not offences under ordinary criminal law," reads the document.

Under the Third Additional Protocol to the Convention, the members of the Council of Europe, its signatories, aim at further contributing to safeguarding human rights, upholding the rule of law and supporting the democratic fabric of society. 

"Considering it desirable to that effect to strengthen their individual and collective ability to respond to crime, (the signatories) decided to improve on and supplement in certain aspects the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, done at Strasbourg on 20 April 1959, as well as the Additional Protocols thereto of 17 March 1978 and 8 November 2001," the document reads.   

It adds that the signatories are taking into consideration the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, done at Rome on 4 November 1950, as well as the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, done at Strasbourg on 28 January 1981.

Photo: Council of Europe