Projects
HELP
EU/CoE HELP Project ‘Radicalisation Prevention, Judicial Response to Terrorism & International Cooperation in Criminal Matters’ (HELP RP-TERR-ICCM)
Cross-border crime, risks to public security and the rise of radicalisation leading to violent extremism and terrorism in the EU Member States continue to occur, alongside violations of fundamental rights. The increasingly open area of free movement could be abused by criminals (including terrorists) to pursue their objectives. The criminal justice response to these phenomena must be enhanced.
The European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe (CoE) work together in the area of criminal matters. Considering the global nature of cross-border crime, an effective response to such a challenge, while respecting human rights and allowing citizens to live in an area of freedom, security and justice, requires intense international cooperation. In this regard, it is essential to improve the coordination of investigations and prosecutions and the cooperation between the competent authorities in the Member States, particularly by facilitating the execution of international mutual legal assistance requests and the implementation of extradition requests.
The Council of Europe (CoE) Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) aims at supporting CoE Member States in implementing European human rights standards (CoE and EU) at national level, by raising the capacities of legal professionals to apply those instruments in their daily work.
The HELP Project ‘Radicalisation Prevention, Judicial Response to Terrorism & International Cooperation in Criminal Matters’ (HELP RP-TERR-ICCM) is funded by the European Union and implemented by the Council of Europe through its HELP Programme in partnership with the Confederation of European Probation (CEP).
The project’s main objective is to improve justice cooperation in criminal matters and to contribute to the effective and coherent application of related European instruments through increasing capacities and mutual trust of justice practitioners. The emphasis is on transnational cooperation and the following priorities: mutual recognition of instruments; judicial responses to terrorism, notably on reinforcing the prevention of radicalisation, especially in prisons; issues related to pre-trial detention, in particular raising awareness of case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR); the functioning of European and other international Treaties/legal instruments on international co-operation in criminal matters.
This two-year project supports EU criminal justice systems via (i) the development and implementation in targeted EU countries of a series of cross-border seminars and ii) a high- level conference promoting mutual learning. These events will provide a unique opportunity for justice professionals to exchange experiences and best practices with a multi-agency and transnational approach.
In addition, the project will benefit from existing HELP online courses on ‘radicalisation prevention’, ‘international cooperation in criminal matters’, ‘procedural safeguards in criminal proceedings and victims’ rights’ and ‘CPT (Committee for the Prevention of Torture) Standards’ among others.
In November 2020 CEP organized its first international seminar in the framework of this project, more information can be found here.
In December 2021 a second event took place, face-to-face in Barcelona, more information can be found here.
In 2022 CEP launched a series of 8 vodcasts – online video interviews with experts working in the field of deradicalization and rehabilitation in Europe. They are created by Mr. Robert Örell (co-chair EU RAN Rehabilitation Working Group, Sweden) and Prof. Ioan Durnescu (University of Bucharest, Romania) in cooperation with CEP.
- Spiros Papadopoulos, Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism expert within the Austrian probation service and project manager at NEUSART KOMPASS, Austria.
- Liesbeth van der Heide, Researcher and lecturer at Leiden University, the Netherlands.
- Tina Mykkänen, International Consultant, P/CVE and CT Expert.
- Maarten van de Donk, Expert of RADAR, working for Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN).
- Marc Hecker, Director of Research and Communications, French Institute for International Relations.
- Elvar Jonsson, Program Educator, Entré program Sweden.
- Pedro Liberado, Chief Research Officer & Head of Radicalisation, Violent Extremism and organisied crime at Innovative Prison Systems (IPS).
- Torben Adams, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer UNODC Vienna.
On 30 March 2022 CEP organized its third seminar in the framework of the HELP project, this time in Cologne, Germany. This last seminar was focused on radicalization and rehabilitation after the release from prison. More information can be found here.
On 12 May 2022 CEP Secretary General Mr. Willem van der Brugge and CEP Policy Officer Ms Mirka Jakesova participated in the final seminar ‘Strengthening EU criminal justice systems’: Project impact & Success stories. The aim of the seminar was to examine the results of the EU-CoE project HELP RP-TERR-ICCM and offer an opportunity to hear success stories from some of the participating institutions, professions and countries who will explain the project’s impact at national level. CEP as a partner to the project presented on the implementation and results within the project. For more information please see here.
For the project website, click here.
Our knowledge of Violent Extremism
Related News
Check out the latest news and updates on this project’s focus area.
CEP Events
CEP presents the four winners of the CEP Awards 2025
27/10/2025
During the General Assembly aand CEP Conference on Gender-Based Violence in Vienna, Austria, CEP presented the four CEP Awards to its winners With the awards, CEP would like to celebrate outstanding contributions to probation within Europe. We were glad to receive all the impressive submissions of which the following winners are chosen. Congratulations!
CEP Board
Meet the CEP Board
22/10/2025
The General Assembly takes place every three years. The last General Assembly was held on 15 October 2025 in Vienna, Austria.
The CEP Board has a President, two Vice-Presidents, a Treasurer and a maximum of eight ordinary Board members. The General Assembly elects the President, two Vice-Presidents and a minimum of three and a maximum of five other board members from among its members. Three members may be appointed by the Board from among the full or associated members to ensure that the specific expertise and interests are represented. The Board appoints the Treasurer, who can be a board member or an ex-officio board member of which an explanation is given in the internal regulations.
CEP Events, CEP members, Gender-based violence
CEP 15th General Assembly and International Conference on Gender-Based Violence in Probation
16/10/2025
From 14 to 16 October 2025, Vienna hosted the 15th CEP General Assembly and the CEP International Conference on Gender-Based Violence in Probation: Challenges and Lessons Learned. The event, organized in cooperation with NEUSTART, brought together over 100 CEP members, probation professionals, policymakers, and researchers from across Europe to reflect, exchange experiences, and discuss the topic of gender-based violence from the perspective of probation, restorative justice and prison.
Probation in Europe
New Vodcast Episode: Leo Tigges on Probation Capacity Building
09/10/2025
The 15th episode of Division_Y features Leo Tigges, a freelancing consultant and former Secretary General of the Confederation of European Probation (CEP).
In this episode, host Jo Tein (CEP board member) speaks with Leo about his professional journey and his co-authored publication with Steve Pitts on Probation Capacity Building. The discussion highlights international collaboration, knowledge exchange, and strategies for strengthening probation systems across Europe.
▶️ Watch the full interview (English with German subtitles) below
Framework Decisions
CEP Updates Framework Decision 947 Guides
06/10/2025
CEP has released updated versions of its guides for persons under probation supervision and for probation staff, reflecting its continued commitment to cross-border cooperation in criminal justice. These revisions aim to promote broader use of Framework Decision 947, which facilitates the mutual recognition of probation measures and alternative sanctions across EU member states.
The guides are to be found here.
ITSCCS
Building Core Skills, Building Connections: V edition of the ITSCCS 2025 in Barcelona
03/10/2025
Barcelona was the stage for the CEP International Training School on Core Correctional Skills (ITSCCS) 2025, held from 29 September to 3 October. Over five days, the Centre d’Estudis Jurídics i Formació Especialitzada became a hub for practitioners eager to sharpen the practical tools that define effective work in the criminal justice field.
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