In the capacity of the Chairman of the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative (RAI), the Director of the Directorate for Anti-Corruption Initiative, Vesna Ratkovic, PhD, attended the annual Western Balkans donor coordination conference Western Balkans and Europe 2020 – Towards Convergence and Growth. The Conference was held in Brussels on 30-31 March 2011.

The International Anti-Corruption Academy was established at the ceremony during the conference "From Vision to Reality: A New and Holistic Approach to Fighting Corruption", which took place in Vienna on 2-3 September 2010.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, in his addressing speech, told the audience that the establishment of the Academy represents a “milestone” in global efforts to combat corruption. He further noted that attitudes towards this menace are changing, as well as intolerance of it is growing.

Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative (RAI) Secretariat, in cooperation with the hosting School of Magistrates of Republic of Albania, co-organized the annual Summer School for Junior Magistrates from South - Eastern Europe on May 31 - June 06, 2010, in Durres, Republic of Albania. Launched in 2006 as a forum for exchange of ideas and practices among young judges, prosecutors and investigators, the event was organized for 5th consecutive year and was dedicated to the "International Standards and Cooperation in the Fight against Corruption".

The representatives of Regional Anti-corruption Initiative (RAI) Ms. Vesna Ratkovic - Chairperson of RAI, Mr. Edmond Dunga - Head of RAI Secretariat made a presentation of the Initiative and its role and activities in South East Europe in NATO Headquarters in Brussels on February 26, 2010. The meeting was attended as well by the representative of Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Mr. Sorin Sterie - Senior Political Advisor on Security, Defense and Justice and Home Affairs in RCC's Liaison Office in Brussels. 

RAI representatives were invited by the Montenegrin Permanent Mission in NATO HQ in Brussels which currently is presiding the SEEGROUP. Ms. Ratkovic and Mr. Dunga presented during the SEE Group meeting the activities and progress developed under the Regional Anti-corruption Initiative during 10 years of its existence as well as the current and futures plans and priorities in the anti-corruption field. The presentation met great interest by the representatives of NATO SEEGROUP Member States and some ideas of cooperation were already proposed by several participants. A special emphasis was given during the lively debate to the areas of common interest in which a close partnership could be developed through SEEGROUP by actively involving the NATO International Secretariat and interested NATO Member States.

NATO SEEGROUP is a forum created by the NATO Member States for the SEE region in support to the Euro-Atlantic accession process.

Source: www.rai-see.org

Agency for the Fight against Corruption in Serbia officially started operating on 1st January 2010. Law on Agency, which established this independent body, was adopted in October 2008, and began its implementation on 1st January 2010.

Thirty thousand officials in Serbia will have to submit the report on their property and income to the Agency until the end of the month, using a special form.

For the first time, officials’ property and incomes will be public and published on the Agency web site.

Besides the conflict of interest, property and gifts reporting, the Agency's competences are: control of financing political parties and electoral campaigns, which used to be the competence of the Assembly Committee for Finance and the Republic Electoral Commission.

The Agency will also monitor the implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan, as well as the introduction of plans of integrity in state institutions.

Workshop on Strengthening Regional Cooperation in Asset Recovery by Creating a Regional Network of Practitioners and Building a Platform for Exchange of Information, Experience and Good Practices was held from 2-4 December 2009 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The event was co-organized by the Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative, joint initiative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Bank, UNODC Regional Programme Office for South-Eastern Europe (RPOSEE) and the Regional Anti-corruption Initiative (RAI) Secretariat, and supported by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). The host of the Conference was the Government of Bulgaria.

The main objective of the Conference was to discuss possibilities of establishing a regional practitioners’ network for the recovery of proceeds of corruption in the region. This network would facilitate informal exchange of information on asset recovery among the practitioners from law enforcement and the judiciary, thus contributing to the establishment of trust and confidence among practitioners throughout the region.

On the XIII RAI Steering Group Meeting, held on 29 and 30 October 2009 in Sofia, Bulgaria, the Director of the Directorate for Anti-Corruption Initiative Vesna Ratkovic, PhD was re-elected as the Chairperson of the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative (RAI). With the support of the RAI Secretariat, Ratkovic will manage the activities of the Initiative in the following two years. This will enable the Directorate to continue its active participation in defining priorities and establishing anti-corruption policies, being implemented under RAI in the region. Ratkovic was first elected for the two-year mandate in October 2007.

Delegation of Montenegro, led by the Director for Anti-Corruption Initiative Vesna Ratkovic, PhD, took part at the GRECO Conference in Strasbourg. The Conference was a part of the celebration of the 10^th anniversary of the Council of Europe’s body, and an opportunity for the representatives of member states to discuss the achievements in capacity enhancement for the fight against corruption. The Montenegrin delegation also included representatives of the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Justice.

On the 40th plenary session held on 5 December 2008, GRECO discussed and adopted the Compliance Report for Montenegro, which stated that Montenegro implemented 66.6 percent of the recommendations from the Report on the Joint I and II Evaluation Round, whereas eight recommendations were said to be partially implemented. There was no recommendation that was evaluated as not implemented. The GRECO concluded that "the substantial progress was achieved in almost all areas considered by recommendations.”

The deadline for implementation of the partially implemented recommendations is June 2010.