Skopje, 29 October 2024 (MIA) – Chief Prosecutor of the Republic of North Macedonia, Ljupcho Kocevski signed a memorandum of cooperation Tuesday in Warsaw, Poland, with his Polish counterpart, Prosecutor General Adam Bodnar.

As reported by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of North Macedonia, this memorandum establishes a basis for closer cooperation between the prosecution offices of the two countries, focusing primarily on areas that involve the exchange of expertise and operational experiences from specialized prosecutors' offices, study and working meetings, as well as joint training programs and direct sharing of experiences concerning organization, human resource management, and digital technologies.

“While our organizational systems are different, I believe that the challenges and issues we encounter in combating crime are similar. Additionally, the Republic of North Macedonia faces the challenge of aligning with European standards, strengthening the rule of law, and fostering trust in judicial institutions. Regarding all these objectives, the expert assistance from the Republic of Poland is indeed invaluable to us,” Kocevski stated during the bilateral meeting prior to signing the memorandum. He thanked his Polish counterpart for the involvement of several distinguished Polish experts who are actively contributing to reforms in the judicial sector and the prosecution through the EU Support for Rule of Law project.

As Kocevski noted, crime knows no boundaries, and offenders readily move their activities from one nation to another.

“Despite the significant geographical distance between Poland and Macedonia, every exchange of experiences and information that can assist us in addressing criminal offenders more effectively, particularly in the areas of organised crime and corruption, is important,” Kocevski said.

Adam Bodnar, Prosecutor General, who is also Minister of Justice, expressed satisfaction with the signing of the joint memorandum of cooperation.

“Poland is also going through a period of transformation in its political system, which brings its own challenges. As a prosecution service, we are called upon regarding our responsibilities in the fight against crime and corruption. In two months, Poland will take over the EU presidency, and we truly want to make a significant impression in that capacity, which is a special responsibility for us,” Bodnar said, adding that Poland is working on a project to separate the National Prosecutor's Office from the Ministry of Justice to enable greater independence in prosecutorial proceedings. The prosecutorial structure in Poland comprises over 6,000 public prosecutors.

The delegation of the Macedonian Public Prosecutor’s Office, headed by Kocevski, also includes the chiefs of Public Prosecutor’s Offices for Prosecuting Organised Crime and Corruption in Skopje and Bitola: Islam Abazi, Gavril Bubevski, and Olivera Nechakovska, along with Biljana Arsovska, the head of the Public Relations Department at the Prosecutor's Office, reads the press release of the Public Prosecutor's Office of North Macedonia.

Accompanied by a five-member delegation from the State Audit Office, led by Auditor General Maksim Acevski, they are on a study visit to the Republic of Poland to observe and exchange experiences regarding communication practices between the prosecution and the auditing body.

As part of the visit, supported by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, public prosecutors and auditors also visited the National Public Prosecutor's Office of Poland this afternoon, where they were introduced to the functioning and communication systems for data exchange with the auditing body. At the same time, Kocevski and Acevski presented the functioning and cooperation between the Public Prosecutor's Office and the State Audit Office in our country.

Photo: Public Prosecutor’s Office of North Macedonia