Montenegro, Serbia to upgrade cooperation in combating organised crime, corruption

Belgrade, Serbia (9 April 2013) – Cooperation between Montenegro and Serbia has been intensified lately, creating conditions for achieving results in all areas, especially in justice and home affairs, Montenegrin Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Duško Marković and Serbian Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dačić agreed at a meeting in Belgrade on Monday.

The meeting was an opportunity to exchange views on current challenges, but also to recognise concrete means of cooperation in fighting organised crime and corruption. In that regard, the meeting addressed the notion of establishing a regional centre for cross-border cooperation between Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Montenegro strongly supports Serbia’s EU bid which, at this point of time, depends on the country’s ability to conduct a dialogue with Priština, DPM Marković told the press following his meeting with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vučić.

“Montenegro will support Serbia's interests and it won’t do anything to endanger those interests. But, European perspective of Serbia and Montenegro, therefore of the region, should not be brought into question, and dialogue is something that leads us to that end,” DPM Marković noted.

The meeting addressed the idea of setting up joint investigation teams, consisted of representatives of police and security forces, that would investigate major cases of organised crime and corruption.