Agreement on cooperation between Montenegro and Eurojust initialed Monday in Hague

The Hague, the Netherlands (21 April 2015) – Representatives of Montenegro’s Justice Ministry and European Union’s Judicial Cooperation Unit (Eurojust) initialed Monday the agreement on mutual cooperation. Official signing of the very significant agreement for Montenegro will follow soon.

Signing of the cooperation agreement is a key measure in the field of judicial cooperation in criminal matters, set out by the Action Plan for the Negotiating Chapter 24 - Justice, freedom and security, which fulfillment is of particular importance for the overall negotiation process between the European Union and Montenegro. The agreement promotes cooperation in the field of justice and law enforcement with EU member states and other countries that have entered into similar agreements with Eurojust.

The establishment of contractual relations enhances Montenegro’s integration into EU institutional structure and facilitates preparation of the country’s institutions for functioning within European institutions until it resumes responsibilities of full accession into the EU.

The agreement, which was initialed yesterday in the Hague, defines the extent of cooperation between Montenegro and the EU judicial institution and establishes competent authorities responsible for the implementation of the agreement, mechanisms for information exchange, with special emphasis on issues of privacy and personal data protection.

Eurojust is a European Union’s agency dealing with judicial cooperation in criminal matters. It was established to boost cooperation and coordination among agencies of the EU member states in conducting investigations and prosecuting serious cross-border and organised crime, as well as to improve procedures providing more complex forms of international legal assistance in criminal matters and to accelerate extradition processes.