JUSTICE AND INTERIOR MINISTERS TO CONTINUE REGIONAL

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000380

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL HR REGIONAL ISSUES
SUBJECT: JUSTICE AND INTERIOR MINISTERS TO CONTINUE REGIONAL
COOPERATION


1. (U) In its capacity as Chair-in-office of the SouthEast Europe
Cooperation Process (SEECP),Croatia hosted an April 13 conference
of SEECP justice and interior ministers in Zagreb to discuss
regional co-operation in judicial reform and combating cross-border
crime and illegal migration. Prime Minister Ivo Sanader opened the
meeting, which was also attended by European Commissioner for
European Justice, Freedom and Security Franco Frattini, Romanian
Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, and Southeast Europe
Stability Pact Coordinator Erhard Busek. Ministers and six deputy
ministers or state secretaries from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro,
Romania, Serbia, and Turkey attended. Croatian representatives
included Justice Minister Ana Lovrin, Interior Minister Ivica Kirin,
Supreme Court President Branko Hrvatin, Chief State Attorney Mladen
Bajic, and USKOK (Office for the Prevention of Corruption and
Organised Crime) Director Dinko Cvitan.


2. (U) The conference ended with the adoption of a final declaration
recapping past activities and defining the common goals of future
co-operation between SEECP countries. PM Sanader told the press that
judicial reform and the fight against corruption are key topics for
the region, and added that SEECP plays a vital role in the promotion
of co-operation in this region. Frattini also noted the importance
of the fight against corruption, saying that it should be conducted
through legislative reforms in the countries of the region. Busek
listed five important mechanisms in combating organized crime,
citing the fight against cross-border crime, close cooperation
between police chiefs, combating vehicle theft in cooperation with
European and international police organizations Europol and
Interpol, combating corruption through exchanges of experience and
training seminars, and combating illegal immigration. Romanian PM
Popescu-Tariceanu stressed the important role of the regional centre
for combating organized crime, which is based in Bucharest.


3. (SBU) Assistant Justice Minister Ljiljana Vodopija-Cengic, who
was heavily involved in organizing the conference, told Emboffs
April 17 that she was very pleased with the outcome of the meeting,
which highlighted progress made under the Croatian SEECP
chairmanship. This includes plans for a regional network of state
attorney's offices to facilitate the fight against organized crime
and the criminal prosecution of cross-border crime, and a harmonized
data protection system for an effective exchange of information and
cooperation with specialized agencies such as Europol, Eurojust and
Frontex. Bilateral meetings with Commissioner Frattini were also
very helpful to Croatia in its ongoing efforts to prepare for EU
membership.
BRADTKE