Police appointments remain a problem for GRECO

Montenegro has not achieved a sufficient level of compliance with the recommendations of the Council of Europe's Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), as assessed in the Second Compliance Report for Montenegro within the Fifth Evaluation Round.

GRECO concluded that Montenegro had satisfactorily implemented eight of the 22 recommendations relating to the prevention of corruption and the promotion of integrity in the highest executive functions and law enforcement bodies. Of the remaining 14 recommendations, 13 were partially implemented, while one recommendation was not implemented.

That is why this Council of Europe body expects Montenegro to submit a report on progress in implementing the remaining recommendations, which were issued to the country in 2022, by June 30, 2027.

"In light of the above, GRECO concludes that Montenegro has satisfactorily implemented eight out of the twenty-two recommendations contained in the Evaluation Report within the Fifth Evaluation Round. Of the remaining 14 recommendations, 13 have been partially implemented, while one recommendation has not been implemented," reads the document, adopted in mid-June during the plenary session in Strasbourg, and presented yesterday during the session of the Government of Montenegro.

It was specified that the recommendations related, among other things, to the anti-corruption strategy, the role of the National Anti-Corruption Council, the review of the legal framework, integrity checks in the police and whistleblower protection were fully implemented. The recommendations related to the highest executive functions, the work of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (APC), access to information, lobbying, gifts, asset control, immunity of members of the Government, police ethics, training, internal control and complaints against the police were partially implemented. The recommendation related to appointments in the police based on merit and free from undue political influence was not implemented.

When it comes to the holders of the highest executive functions, GRECO notes “good progress in several areas”, but that final results in some segments have not yet been achieved. The conclusions state that the adoption of the Anti-Corruption Strategy for the period from 2024 to 2028 and the explicit recognition of the holders of the highest executive functions as a priority area have led to the fact that integrity plans now include ministers, state secretaries, advisors and other high-ranking officials.

GRECO welcomed the formalisation of inter-institutional cooperation between the ASK and the National Anti-Corruption Council. However, the conclusions cautioned that several key legislative solutions, including the Draft Law on the Government, which introduces integrity checks for holders of the highest executive functions, and amendments to the Law on the Prevention of Corruption, which improve the regimes for declaring assets and conflicts of interest, have “made significant progress in the procedure”, but still need to be adopted and their effective implementation ensured.

“Although ASK has now incorporated integrity checks into its regular recruitment procedures, further staffing needs to be increased to strengthen its operational capacity,” GRECO said.

As regards the police, GRECO notes that integrity checks are now an integral part of recruitment procedures, and that an annual declaration of income and assets has been introduced for all police officers. Improved methodological guidelines in the field of ethics and integrity, as well as the adoption of a revised Code of Ethics for the Police, were also assessed as positive developments.

However, the Council of Europe body warns that training for police officers already in service “remains relatively limited”, while a confidential consultation mechanism on ethics and integrity issues “has not yet been established”.

GRECO assesses that further efforts are needed to strengthen the capacity for corruption prevention and internal control systems in the police, although some increase in staff numbers has been recorded. The report highlights that the need to establish an independent and sufficiently strong external mechanism for lodging complaints against the police “remains unresolved”.

It was specified that additional efforts are necessary to institutionalize merit-based appointments, including for top management positions, as a protective mechanism against political influence on police work.

"In view of the above, GRECO concludes that Montenegro has not achieved a sufficient degree of compliance with the recommendations contained in the Evaluation Report within the Fifth Evaluation Round," the document states.