Italian Falcone‑Borsellino Program Launches Needs‑Assessment Mission in Montenegro

From 28 to 30 July, an Italian delegation carried out the first phase of a needs‑assessment mission in Podgorica under the Falcone‑Borsellino programme. The mission, organised by Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation together with the Central European Initiative (CEI) Executive Secretariat, aims to strengthen institutional capacity in the fight against organized crime and to support EU accession‑related reforms.

The programme, originally designed for Latin America and the Caribbean, has been extended to the seven CEI countries that are pursuing EU membership – Albania, Bosnia‑Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine. Montenegro is the first of these states to join the CEI initiative and to host the mission.

The delegation was led by Luigi De Kjar, Coordinator for Legal Diplomacy, and Giovanni Russo, legal adviser and programme director. It also included Slavena Radovanović Lolić, Sonja Levstik, Colonel D’ampiero Karijeri and other officials. During the three‑day visit they met with Montenegro’s Ministry of Justice, the Special State Prosecutor’s Office, the Police Directorate, the Financial Intelligence Unit, the Anti‑Corruption Agency and other relevant bodies.