The EP demands the opening of the archives of the former Yugoslavia because of the links between crime and politics
Representatives of the European Parliament on December 15th, late in the evening, voted on the report on co-operation in the fight against organized crime in the Western Balkans. The document also calls on states in the region to open the archives of the former Yugoslavia.
In the adopted document, MEPs called on the governments of the countries of the region to step up their efforts towards reforms in the field of rule of law and the fight against corruption and organized crime.
531 MEPs voted for this report, while 48 were against and 117 abstained.
The approved report states that the countries of the Western Balkans are “countries of origin, destination and transit with human beings and serve as transit corridors for migrants and refugees, but also areas for money laundering and firearms trade.”
The document states, among other things, that “Members of the European Parliament, aware of the allegations of links between senior political figures and organized crime groups, through this report, stressed the need to eradicate political and administrative links with organized crime through clear measures of protection from corruption and with efficient prosecution of high profile corruption cases ”.
“The links between organized crime and business policy existed even before the break-up of Yugoslavia and continued until the end of the conflicts in the 1990s, when MEPs condemned the apparent lack of will of the responsible authorities in the region to open the archives of the former “Yugoslavia and the files should be returned to the governments if they want,” the document reads.
The need for the Western Balkan countries to co-operate and exchange intelligence with European Union member states and international partners is also emphasized.
The author of the document, the European MP, Lukas Mandl, after the approval of this report stated that organized crime undermines the trust of citizens in their public institutions.
