The Council of Europe and the Romanian government officially inaugurated a centre in Bucharest aimed at supporting the fight against cybercrime worldwide and replying more efficiently to an increasing number of requests for assistance.
More than 120 countries are co-operating with the Council of Europe to reinforce their legislation and capacity to address cybercrime, many of them as part of the Budapest Convention, which has been ratified by 42 countries and signed by 11 others. Nine countries including Argentina, the Philippines and Senegal have been recently invited to join.
The Cybercrime Programme Office (C-PROC), which was set up in April, is responsible for assisting countries in strengthening their criminal justice systems and their capacity to collect electronic evidence, protecting children from sexual violence online and for enhancing the effectiveness of international cooperation.
The Office was opened in the Romanian capital following a proposal by Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta on the occasion of a visit carried out by Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland in Bucharest in March 2013.
