site.btaFourth Forum of Balkan Prosecutors General Outlines Future Priorities in Final Statement

The participants in the Fourth Forum of Balkan Prosecutors General, hosted in Sofia, agreed on the following priorities: establishment of a permanent Balkan prosecutors' platform, which will to convene at least twice a year; strengthening judicial cooperation mechanisms among Balkan countries and, where possible, concluding agreements with Eurojust and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office for more effective collaboration in combating cross-border crime; exchange of experience between prosecutors in sensitive areas such as human trafficking, corruption, cybercrime, environmental protection, and others; conducting training sessions with mixed prosecutorial teams on current cases; effective cooperation in the fight against illegal migration, organized crime, and misuse of cryptocurrencies; modernization and harmonization of legislation in the region to reflect new and evolving forms of criminal activity; real-time information sharing, joint investigations, and legal assistance to ensure security, stability, and justice in the Balkans – as well as building trust between partner services and independent judicial systems.

The Fourth Forum of Chief Prosecutors of the Balkan States was attended by Bulgaria’s Acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov, Acting Prosecutor General of Bulgaria, Prosecutor General of Turkiye's Supreme Court of Appeal, Prosecutor Muhsin Senturk, Slovenia’s State Prosecutor General Katarina Bergant, Albania’s General Prosecutor Olsian Cela and Kosovo Acting Chief State Prosecutor Besim Kelmendi. Delegations from the Supreme Prosecutors' Offices of Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro also took part in the forum.

From Brussels, Michael McGrath, European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, Rule of Law, and Consumer Protection, addressed the forum via a video message.

Among the guests at the event were Eurojust President Michael Schmid, Roel Dona, Secretary General of the International Association of Prosecutors, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev, representatives of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), the leadership of the Association of Prosecutors in Bulgaria and the Chamber of Investigators in Bulgaria.