Combating crime, corruption "must be priority”

BELGRADE Serbian PM Ivica Dacic has said that combat against crime and corruption needs to be a priority and that all institutions needed to work together on it. According to him, the government will continue to support the Anti-Corruption Agency and expects a joint work and it is ready to resolve all misunderstandings with the Anti-Corruption Council. Combating crime, corruption "must be priority” Dacic said that a weak link in combat against corruption could destabilize the entire system and stressed that individuals were also important in the combat. He noted that it was not important to the Serbian government who made suggestions for combat against corruption and that it was important to improve combat against it. “The government in the last mandate reached an agreement with the Anti-Corruption Agency for developing a system of integrity that envisages analyses of every place that can be a source of corruption. The question is how far we have gotten and my impression is that we haven’t gotten very far,” the prime minister said. “The improvement of coordination of state organs, MUP (Interior Ministry), Justice Ministry, Anti-Corruption Agency, ombudsman, public information commissioner and other state institutions is strategically important in combat against corruption and I therefore expect a higher step of cooperation primarily in the implementation of a strategy for combat against corruption, action plan and GREKO group’s recommendations,” he said at the Serbian Anti-Corruption Forum. Dacic added that the Serbian government was working on the adoption of bills, legal acts and strategies that govern combat against corruption and stressed that a certain number of bills had already been passed. The PM pointed to sensitive areas in which corruption often occurred – public procurement, disability pensions, welfare etc. According to him, corruption is also present in judiciary, local self-government, health institutions, schools, police and the Interior Ministry. “Our priority in the previous period was to reveal serious forms of corruption,” Dacic said and repeated that the government was ready to cooperate with the state institutions and NGOs. He stressed that Serbia also had good international cooperation when it came to combat against corruption and organized crime. Ivica Dacic (Tanjug) Tanjug

Combating crime, corruption "must be priority”

Dačić said that a weak link in combat against corruption could destabilize the entire system and stressed that individuals were also important in the combat.

He noted that it was not important to the Serbian government who made suggestions for combat against corruption and that it was important to improve combat against it.

“The government in the last mandate reached an agreement with the Anti-Corruption Agency for developing a system of integrity that envisages analyses of every place that can be a source of corruption. The question is how far we have gotten and my impression is that we haven’t gotten very far,” the prime minister said.

“The improvement of coordination of state organs, MUP (Interior Ministry), Justice Ministry, Anti-Corruption Agency, ombudsman, public information commissioner and other state institutions is strategically important in combat against corruption and I therefore expect a higher step of cooperation primarily in the implementation of a strategy for combat against corruption, action plan and GREKO group’s recommendations,” he said at the Serbian Anti-Corruption Forum.

Dačić added that the Serbian government was working on the adoption of bills, legal acts and strategies that govern combat against corruption and stressed that a certain number of bills had already been passed.

The PM pointed to sensitive areas in which corruption often occurred – public procurement, disability pensions, welfare etc.

According to him, corruption is also present in judiciary, local self-government, health institutions, schools, police and the Interior Ministry.

“Our priority in the previous period was to reveal serious forms of corruption,” Dačić said and repeated that the government was ready to cooperate with the state institutions and NGOs.

He stressed that Serbia also had good international cooperation when it came to combat against corruption and organized crime.