Abazović participates in Western Balkans Summit

Every crisis is also a new chance. I believe that the countries of the Western Balkans must finally understand that only solidarity, economic cooperation, integration and sincere understanding can bring the desired progress. We must shift the focus from the negative topics to those that are really important, concerning the construction of independent institutions, better distribution of justice, infrastructural connections, as well as the fight against organised crime and corruption, said Deputy Prime Minister Dritan Abazović at the Western Balkans Summit in Skopje, organised by the prestigious British newspaper "The Economist".

Prime Minister of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev, Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti, and other regional and European leaders are also taking part in this year's Western Balkans Summit.

If we really want our countries to become full members of the EU and to live in accordance with European values, we must change the way we behave. Our goal is to make the borders invisible, to improve mobility and rebuild the destroyed bridges of friendship between the Balkan countries, Abazović pointed out.

When asked about the fight against organised crime and corruption, Abazović said that a stronger fight against these phenomena would significantly reduce nationalism in the countries of the region, emphasising the thesis that when we end corruption and crime, reconciliation will happen.

In just nine months, Montenegro has stopped cigarette smuggling, which has been considered a state project for thirty years. According to some estimates, over 20 percent of all cigarettes in the EU and the UK came from Montenegro and through the Port of Bar. In addition, the leaders of the largest criminal clans were arrested or wanted, while earlier structures that had the support of certain state addresses were broken up. 1.4 tons of cocaine were seized, which is the largest cocaine seizure in the history of the Western Balkans. But all this is just the beginning of our work, whose continuation is not possible without the election of the new Prosecutorial Council and the reform of the Prosecutor's Office, Abazović pointed out.