Podgorica/Madrid, 23 October 2013 – Today, Access Info with Montenegrin and international civil society organisations outlined concerns about Montenegro’s efforts to combat corruption and organised crime, highlighting the reduction of information publically available on the national company register, in a letter sent to Mr. Dirk Lange, the Head of Unit for Montenegro within the European Commission’s Directorate General for Enlargement.
The recent actions of the Montenegrin government will undermine and challenge efforts by civil society organizations and media to investigate cases of corruption and organised crime and to hold government to account.
“We note that, while the police and prosecution in Montenegro still have limited results, there is a solid track record of possible corruption and organized crime cases having been disclosed by civil society and media using information from mentioned public registries” states the letter. “It is hence of utmost importance that information from those registries remain public and unrestricted.”
As part of the process of EU integration, Montenegro should be introducing higher standards of transparency of government operations and delivering – not less – information to its citizens. It is therefore regrettable that the Montenegrin authorities are moving in the opposite direction, intentionally depriving public from information that could help uncover and take action against illegal acts corruption.
You can read a copy of the letter 