Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Zoran Pažin and Ministers of Interior and European Affairs Mevludin Nuhodžić and Aleksandar Andrija Pejović spoke today at the opening ceremony of the project "EU Support to the Rule of Law II" (EURoL 2).
According to the Government, Pažin expressed his belief that through the implementation of the planned activities, the capacities of Montenegro in the fight against organized crime and corruption will be further strengthened. He also said that he is encouraged by the fact that Montenegro will have concrete benefits in the area of support for the development of infrastructural capacities, because a certain amount of the project of about 500.000 euros should be directed to the procurement of equipment and services for the needs of institutions that are key to strengthening the government. rights.
Referring to the current situation in the country, Pažin announced that zero tolerance towards crime and corruption is the government's motive when creating and implementing policies to combat such deviant social phenomena.
Pažin said that he sees the absence of politics and the supremacy of the profession in that struggle as the only recipe for success: "We as politicians today want to present a service to top professionals in security bodies, the prosecution and the judiciary so that they can carry out their duties impartially, objectively and without compromise." , he pointed out.
He concluded his address to those present with the assessment that Montenegro today, as a member of NATO, and in the coming period as a member of the European Union, has the obligation to be a home for its citizens in which they will feel safe.
The Minister of the Interior, Mevludin Nuhodžić, expressed his gratitude to the European Commission for the continuous support it provides to the Ministry of the Interior through a large number of projects aimed at the implementation of temporary benchmarks and obligations from the negotiation chapter 24.
"The provision of quality expertise, as well as the significant funds provided through the mechanism of sectoral budget support, contribute to the further improvement of personnel and technical capacities of Montenegrin institutions, all with the aim of our readiness to fight more effectively against organized and serious crime, illegal migration and terrorism". Nuhodzic said.
He particularly emphasized the importance of the new Law on Internal Affairs, with the adoption and implementation of which the Ministry of Interior intends to improve the organizational structure of the Montenegrin police, in accordance with professional standards in the member states of the European Union.
As he assessed, in relation to the most important foreign policy priority of the Government of Montenegro, which is membership in the European Union, the Ministry of Interior is committed to implementing activities in the direction of strengthening the security sector, whose reform is a continuous process, with the need for permanent adaptation to challenging circumstances.
Minister of European Affairs Aleksandar Andrija Pejović pointed out that support within the rule of law is of great importance since it is an area that dictates the pace of the entire negotiation process, in accordance with the new approach. He reminded that in the four years of negotiations in Chapters 23 and 24, significant results were achieved, 65 reform laws were passed, key institutions were formed and a balance of results recognized by the European Commission and EU member states was established.
He said that through the first EURoL project, which lasted from January 2014 to January 2017 and amounted to 3,6 million euros, Montenegro strengthened the fight against organized crime and corruption and improved the independence, efficiency and responsibility of the judiciary.
"From the continuation of the project in the next three years, worth 2,8 million, we expect an increase in the efficiency of the judiciary, further strengthening of institutional capacities and effective application of laws in the fight against organized crime and corruption, as well as strengthening of capacities for programming and monitoring of the European Union's support to the rule of law sector ", said Pejović.
The head of the EU Delegation in Montenegro, Ambassador Aivo Orav, the Vice President of the Supreme Judicial Council of the Republic of Italy, Giovanni Leinini, and the Assistant Director of the Police Administration of the Republic of Italy, Niccolo D'angelo, also spoke at the ceremony.
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