Conclusion Paper: Ensuring the prison-exit continuum: Finding cross-sectoral challenges towards successful and durable solutions

The first meeting of Thematic Panel 2 (TP2), entitled ‘Ensuring the prison-exit continuum: Finding cross-sectoral challenges towards successful and durable solutions, happened on April 1-2, 2025, in Brussels and brought together 34 participants including Co-leaders, the Secretariat, the Policy Officer, external experts, as well as 27 TP2 Members, namely policymakers, researchers, and practitioners from 15 European countries.

As part of the EU Knowledge Hub on the Prevention of Radicalisation, TP2 is mandated to effectively prevent and counter radicalisation in prisons while improving the rehabilitation and reintegration of persons sentenced to terrorism-related crimes, or assessed as radical, extremist or vulnerable to radicalisation. With these goals in mind, the TP kick-off included presentations and discussions where participants explored the importance of ensuring the prison-exit continuum and defined cross-sectoral challenges and solutions, thus laying the foundation for TP2’s year plan.
 

The opening session situated TP2 within the EU Knowledge Hub for the Prevention of Radicalisation objectives and strategic framework, with a particular focus on the Strategic Orientations on a Coordinated EU Approach to Prevention of Radicalisation for 2024-2025. In tandem with this, an overview of the cross-sectoral and interinstitutional approach for successful rehabilitation and reintegration was shared to set the scene for the TP2 work plan. The European state of play was explored through a presentation of the EU situation and trends, insights into North Macedonia and the MENA region, and ‘what works’ and ‘does not work’ in desistance. Following this, participants engaged in active discussions surrounding critical analysis for driving change through the definition of key challenges and solutions regarding prisons and rehabilitation.

The meeting provided the opportunity to hear from TP members representing policymakers, researchers, and practitioners to present their daily approach and cooperation with the other sectors. At the end, all participants discussed the key topics and themes that TP2 needs to delve into during the year’s work plan.