Montenegro MPs to Grill Anti-Corruption Chief

A parliamentary committee has demanded a hearing with the head of the Anti-Corruption Agency, Sreten Radonjic, on Wednesday, following claims by the opposition and human rights watchdogs that corruption remains pervasive in the public administration and the courts.

Radonjic, a retired police officer who was former assistant minister and head of the police criminal department, will appear before parliament's anti-corruption committee to explain what his agency has done since January 1, when it began to operate.

The agency faces criticism that has not yet started to publish reports on the assets and income of public officials, although this was required by a deadline of March 31.

In addition, the agency has been accused of not examining whether the assets of state officials had increased significantly from when they took office.

"The anti-corruption agency is a farce," Vanja Calovic, director of MANS, an NGO that investigates corruption, conflicts of interest and parliamentary activities, said recently.

"It was created just to show a response following pressure from the EU and US, but up to now the investigations have only concerned small fish," she said.

"No one wants to create problems considering the [EU] accession process that is underway," Calovic told a group of European journalists meeting in Podgorica last week.

In 2014, Montenegro adopted a Law on Prevention of Corruption - one of five priority legislative measures required in the context of the negotiating process with the EU.

The law forced the goverment to set up the independent Anti-Corruption Agency, which was supposed to unite and strengthen the competences of all existing institutions combating corruption in Montenegro.

The...