27 March 2019 - The Government of Montenegro fully supports the signing of the International Data Exchange Agreement for checking property reports among the countries of Southeast Europe, which would be the first example of this type of data exchange to prevent corruption in Europe, Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Pažin noted.
"We are convinced that the closer regional cooperation that will be provided under this international agreement will contribute to building a just and safe society in Montenegro - a society that clearly condemns, efficiently prevents and decisively punishes every form of corruption," said Deputy Prime Minister Pažin at the opening of the second round of negotiations on the signing of the Agreement in Podgorica.
He stressed that an effective fight against corruption is an unavoidable duty of every country that wants to ensure equal rights and opportunities for all its citizens and a legal system that encourages the creation of a new economic value.
"We are pleased that the Sarajevo-based Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative, under whose auspices this draft agreement was developed, has accepted Montenegro's offer to host today's event. This was our expression of dual commitment: both to fighting corruption at the national level and promoting regional and overall international cooperation in that regard," he stated.
The Deputy Prime Minister underlined the paramount importance of international cooperation in this area, adding that the signing of the Data Exchange Agreement to check property reports will provide a direct exchange of data relating to property registration among the countries of South East Europe.
"We often talk about the fight against corruption in the context of Montenegro's EU accession process. Nevertheless, the fight against corruption is first and foremost a necessity and an obligation of our society, and only then a confirmation of our belonging to the community of modern European democracies," he said.
He agreed on the assessments from the preamble to the Draft Agreement that corruption represents a problem and threat to the stability of democratic institutions, the values of democracy, justice and good governance, and the proper and fair functioning of economies. "Therefore, we can say that the determination and intensity of the fight against corruption testify to our willingness and ability to protect, preserve and improve the highest values of our society," the Deputy Prime Minister concluded.
