site.btaBalkan States' General Prosecutors Hold 2nd Working Forum in Sofia

Sofia, June 24 (BTA) - The general prosecutors of the Balkan
states gathered in Sofia on Thursday for their 2nd Working
Forum. They discussed the role of the prosecuting magistracy for
 the assertion of the rule of law.

Opening the forum, Bulgaria's Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev
expressed his conviction that "the work of institutions from so
many countries and our partnership can serve as an example of
understanding and can motivate us in the efforts we make on a
daily basis," the Bulgarian prosecution service said in a press
release.

The General Prosecutor of Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeal Bekir
 Sahin, the Public Prosecutor of the Republic of North Macedonia
 Ljubomir Joveski, Albania's Prosecutor General Olsian Cela, the
 First  Deputy Prosecutor General of the Prosecutor's Office
attached to Romania's High Court of Cassation and Justice Bogdan
 Licu, and prosecutors from Serbia, Slovenia, Greece and
Montenegro have arrived in Sofia for the forum, while the Deputy
 Chief Prosecutor of the Prosecutor Office of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Milanko Kajganic, is taking part online.

Bekir Sahin greeted the participants and stressed that combating
 cross-border and organized crime can only succeed if mechanisms
 for cooperation between prosecutors are set up and they operate
 in direct contact and coordinated manner.

Bulgarian Supreme Judicial Council Representative Member Boyan
Magdalinchev recalled that prosecutors should be aware that they
 can do their job without political pressure and fear, which is
why they need to stand up categorically for their independence
within the judiciary.

European Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust)
President Ladislav Hamran greeted the participants by
videoconference and assured them that his institution
prioritizes cooperation with the Balkan states.

Earlier in the day, Ivan Geshev held a working meeting with
Bogdan Licu.

The two discussed interaction between the Balkan countries'
prosecution services and the fruitful cooperation established
between the Bulgarian and the Romanian prosecution services in
the context of the two countries' membership of the EU.

Nadina Spinu, Head of the Division for International Judicial
Cooperation at the Prosecutor''s Office attached to Romania's
High Court of Cassation and Justice, also attended the meeting
between Geshev and Licu.

Bulgaria's prosecution service has signed a cooperation
agreement with the Prosecutor's Office attached to Romania's
High Court of Cassation and Justice (in 2019) and a Memorandum
of Cooperation with Romania's Directorate for Investigating
Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT). RI, NV/LG

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