Project "EU Support for the Rule of Law - EURoL II" launched

Podgorica, Montenegro (27 November 2017) -- Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Zoran Pažin, Interior Minister Mevludin Nuhodžić and Minister of European Affairs Aleksandar Andrija Pejović, spoke earlier today at a ceremony marking the launching of the project titled "EU Support to the Rule of Law II" (EURoL II).

Deputy Prime Minister Pažin voiced belief that the capacity of Montenegro to combat organised crime and corruption will be strengthened through the implementation of the planned activities. He also said it is encouraging that Montenegro will have concrete benefits in the area of support for the development of infrastructure capacities, because a certain amount of the project of about 500,000 euros should be used for the procurement of equipment and services for the needs of institutions that are crucial for strengthening the rule of law.

Reflecting on the current situation in the country, DPM Pažin underscored that the zero tolerance towards crime and corruption is the Government's motive in creating and implementing policies to counter such deviant social phenomena.

Deputy Prime Minister Pažin added that he sees absence of politics and the supremacy of the profession in that struggle as the only recipe for success.

"As politicians, we want to represent a service to top professionals in the security bodies, the Prosecutor's Office and the judiciary, so that they can perform their duties impartially, objectively and without compromise," he pointed out.

He concluded his address by noting that Montenegro, as a member of NATO, and a prospective EU member, has a duty to provide its citizens with a home in which they will feel secure.

Minister of the Interior Mevludin Nuhodžić thanked the European Commission for the continued support provided to the Ministry of the Interior through a number of projects aimed at implementing temporary measures and obligations from the negotiating chapter 24.

In relation to the most important foreign policy priority of the Montenegrin Government - EU membership, the Ministry of the Interior is committed to activities aimed at strengthening the security sector, whose reform is an ongoing process, with the need to permanently adapt to challenging circumstances, said Minister Nuhodžić.

Minister of European Affairs Aleksandar Andrija Pejović emphasised that support within the rule of law is of great importance since that is an area that dictates the pace of the entire negotiation process in accordance with the new approach. He recalled that during the four years of negotiations in chapters 23 and 24 significant results were achieved, 65 reform laws were adopted, key institutions were established and balance of results was identified by the European Commission and the EU member states.

He stated that through the first EURoL project, which lasted from January 2014 to January 2017, amounting to EUR 3.6 million, Montenegro strengthened the fight against organised crime and corruption and improved the independence, efficiency and accountability of the judiciary.

"We expect the 3-year project, worth EUR 2.8 million, to increase efficiency of the judiciary, further strengthen institutional capacities and effective implementation of laws in combating organised crime and corruption, as well as to reinforce capacities for programming and monitoring the support of the European Union to the rule of law sector," Minister Pejović concluded.