Western Balkan states pledge strengthened fight against organized crime

Ministers of Interior and Justice from Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Albania pledged at a conference to strengthen their fight against organized crime in the region.Addressing the conference on Friday, Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said no individual effort against organized crime or corruption could be successful without the continued cooperation of colleagues in the region, the Serbian news agency Tanjug reported."It seems to me that cooperation among police, prosecution and judicial officials is on a much higher level than cooperation among politicians," said Dacic, adding "I wish state officials cooperated in such a manner."Dacic, also Serbian Minister of Interior, emphasized the importance of establishing a regional arrest warrant, based on the European model.He also suggested the formation of joint investigation teams in the Western Balkan region that would improve the exchange of information and evidence for criminal proceedings."The fight against corruption and crime will remain among the most important priorities of the government of Serbia and the state authorities," said Dacic, who signed an agreement on the readmission of persons residing in a neighboring state with Montenegrin Minister of Interior Rasko Konjevic.Serbian Justice Minister Nikola Selakovic called for a simplified extradition system in the region among other conventions to battle the increasingly "dangerous and better organized international crime".Meanwhile, justice ministers attending the conference signed a letter of intent for the ratification of the Regional Convention on the Recognition and cross-border enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.