EN
The main purpose of this article is to describe a development of the police training and cooperation which has changed a lot in the past 15 years. The Association of European Police Colleges was established by 17 police academies from then 15 Member States of the European Union which signed the Memorandum of Understanding defining the objectives and structure of the Association. Nowadays academies from the current 27 EU Member States are all present in the Association, but there are also members from outside of the EU such as Russia, Georgia or Azerbaijan. All members share the same belief that cooperation is essential in the fight against crime and that police training has an essential role to play, notably in the exchange of information and good practices. The article also deals with three kinds of activities which have been developed by the AEPC since 1996: the AEPC calendar of courses, the annual conference and the European Senior Police Officers Course. Moreover, it describes a few historical partners of the Association of European Police Colleges – the Central European Police College (MEPA), The European Police College (CEPOL), as well as more recent partners such as the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA). In conclusion the author of the article underlines that the AEPC remains a unique opportunity for colleges to be a part of a large network of expertise, exchange and research in the field of police training, a network with essential specificities such as flexibility, expertise, cooperation, training.