On 27 April, following the discussions during the Twelfth anniversary of the Cybercrime Programme Office of the Council of Europe (C-PROC) and meeting with the diplomatic community, His Excellency Mr Danilo Brajović, Ambassador of Montenegro in Bucharest, convened a meeting with the representatives of the C-PROC to discuss ongoing and prospective technical assistance on cybercrime and electronic evidence.
The C-PROC management presented its mandate, emphasizing the implementation of capacity building projects on cybercrime in accordance with the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention).
The discussions focused on supporting the Ministry of Justice of Montenegro on the implementation of the Second Additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention (2AP) and advising the law enforcement authorities on strengthening the specialised cybercrime unit, building on previous capacity building activities of the CyberSEE project for the benefit of the Montenegro Police Directorate and police training institutions.
Upcoming joint engagements were also explored, particularly co-operation with the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C) for the training on dark web investigations in April and the EU-funded projects coordination meeting in May, in Podgorica. Furthermore, activities scheduled to take place in June, in Montenegro were discussed, including the Regional exercise of the Western Balkans Working Group for Digital Asset Investigations and the Domestic expert workshop on the implementation of the 2AP.
The meeting was also an opportunity to follow up on the ongoing process of concluding a judicial co-operation agreement between the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism of Romania (DIICOT) and its counterpart institution in Montenegro, with the support of the CyberSEE project. The agreement is aimed at promoting bilateral co-operation in fighting against organised crime, including cybercrime, mutual legal assistance, and the exchange of information.
The planning of the third edition of the flagship event Cyber Games, organised by the Council of Europe in partnership with INTERPOL and scheduled to be held in May 2027 in Montenegro during the country’s presidency of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, was discussed and the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and local authorities was emphasized.
The Montenegrin counterparts expressed strong interest in enhancing collaboration in capacity building facilitating closer coordination with domestic criminal justice authorities, including the country’s cyber ambassador within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The meeting laid the groundwork for forthcoming CyberSEE project activities in Montenegro and the region.
Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention)
Second Additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention
Cybercrime Programme Office to the Council of Europe (C-PROC)