Popovic: Zero Tolerance Toward Corruption, Draft Strategy Defines Risky Areas

The minister of justice of Serbia, Maja Popovic, has stated that the aim of the government is “zero tolerance toward corruption” and that the Draft National Strategy for Fighting Corruption for 2023-2028, on the occasion of which a gathering was held today within the public discussion, marks the especially risky areas for corruption.

– Eliminating corruption is the basis of a democratic society and one of our government’s priorities – said Popovic and added that the work group for the preparation of this “complex, strategic document” featured representatives of state organs and non-governmental organizations.

As especially risky areas, she cited privatization, construction, public procurement, customs, financing political activities, public enterprises and healthcare and pointed to the need for a greater protection of whistleblowers. Emanuele Giaufret, the head of the EU Mission to Serbia, which has supported this project financially, together with the German Organization for International Cooperation (GIZ), pointed out that corruption led to injustice, inequality and costs in a society.

– EU members have good results, according to international indicators, but conservative estimates indicate that the annual damage to the economy of the EU amounts to EUR 120 billion – Giaufret emphasized and added that it showed how deeply rooted corruption was and how difficult it was to suppress it.

He said that this strategic document was supposed to “plug the holes” in the law and that the planned measures were to encompass all the relevant fields. He added that that was why some of them were defined as highly risky.

According to him, the document has to feature clear deadlines for the meeting of these goals and defined tools for the measuring of the results.

The representative of the Embassy of Germany in Belgrade, Dennis Keiser, emphasized that preventing corruption was one of the key values and goals of the EU and that each strategy needed to be proven in practice, requiring political will.

– The National Strategy for Fighting Corruption in Serbia will introduce the legal acquis of the EU into its system even more strongly, which will contribute to its quicker progress on the road to Europe – Keiser said.

Ministarstvo pravde Republike Srbije

Delegacija Evropske unije u Republici Srbiji Beograd

Ambasada SR Nemačke Beograd

GIZ Beograd

Ministry of Justice

EU Mission to Serbia

Embassy of Germany in Belgrade

German Organization for International Cooperation

GIZ

Emanuele Giaufret

Dennis Keiser

Maja Popovic

corruption

Draft National Strategy for Fighting Corruption for 2023 2028