In the spring of 2021, the well-known public organization Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) prepared a report on the implementation of anti-corruption tools in the countries of the western part of the Balkan Peninsula.
Recall that in 2018, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo at the London Conference within the framework of the Berlin Process assumed a number of commitments in the field of combating corruption, as well as complying with the requirements of European Union legislation.
In Montenegro, a number of measures were taken to fulfill these obligations. Thus, most of the information on public procurement is now available in electronic form (on a paid portal), and the new public procurement law established procedures for conducting inspection control in case of suspicious procurement; the number of training events devoted to the topic of disclosure of information on facts of corruption and protection of whistleblowers was increased; an updated ministerial code of ethics was adopted; 98% of authorities approved integrity plans; a formal methodology for assessing anti-corruption compliance systems in organizations related to tax treaties (The Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures) was developed, and codes of conduct for members of parliament were introduced.
At the same time, the prevention and fight against corruption in the country still remain at an insufficiently high level. According to the report of the European Commission dated October 5, 2020, in terms of political criteria, the period between the submission of this and the previous report of the European Commission was characterized by tension and distrust between the parties in Montenegro and a low level of confidence in the electoral structure. Problems remain regarding the independence, professionalism, efficiency and accountability of the judicial system, as well as in the work of the Anti-Corruption Agency.
The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime indicates that ASK is still considered a body with no real administrative weight, which in fact is focused only on anti-corruption education and training and does not fulfill its functions of prosecuting corruption violations: during the latter the 2020 parliamentary elections, ASK, which is responsible for monitoring the financing of political parties and election campaigns, showed complete indifference to identifying and suppressing violations.
