Podgorica, (MINA) – By adopting amendments to the Law on Internal Affairs, Montenegro has taken a key institutional step forward in security sector reform and further strengthened its path towards the full rule of law, announced Minister of Internal Affairs, Danilo Saranovic.

The Parliament of Montenegro readopted on Thursday the amendments to the Law on Internal Affairs, which were returned by President Jakov Milatovic for reconsideration.

Saranovic thanked the parliamentary majority for, as he said, consistency and responsibility in bringing the process to an end, despite continuous attempts to block restoring order in the system that for decades had been influenced by criminal structures and exposed to political influence.

He said that the Law on Internal Affairs is not only a normative framework, but that it represents an essential foundation for the in-depth transformation of the police system.

“With this law, we protect the police from the influence of organized criminal groups and end the practice in which structures outside the system had more power than the state. At the same time, we are establishing clear mechanisms for ensuring integrity, accountability and professionalism, which have been missing for years”, Saranovic said in a press release.