Corruption According to the Mission’s assessment, there was a strong continuing need to support MoI units that combat economic crime and corruption. During 2013, the main focus was on strengthening capacities to investigate crime with elements of corruption and enhancing oversight mechanisms as a prevention measure. These activities were done in line with the revised National Anti-corruption Strategy. On 21 March, the Mission supported the MoJ’s public debate on Serbia's new National AntiCorruption Strategy for 2013-2018. The Mission participated in the work of the working group and provided expert advice on drafting the strategy. The MoJ had called for comments from citizens and organized a public debate at which a wide range of anti-corruption experts were given the opportunity to provide comments. The Strategy and its accompanying Action Plan represent the Government’s framework for combating corruption in an effort to incrementally improve the prevention and repression of corruption by the end of 2018. On 1 July, the Parliament adopted the National Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2013-2018. The Mission, in co-ordination with its international partners, in particular the European Union, closely followed the drafting process, including participating as observers in the working group. The Strategy defines the following priority areas: political activities; public finance; privatization and public-private partnership; judiciary; police; spatial planning and construction; health care system; education and sport; media and corruption prevention; and covers all of the key issues that need to be dealt with in order to effectively combat corruption in Serbia. The new Strategy was considered a great improvement compared to the 2005 Strategy which was less focused. On 15 July, the Mission, in partnership with the MoJ, organized a public debate on the draft Action Plan for the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2013-2018. Mission Members served as observers to the Working Group and provided expert advice. Over 150 members from the judiciary, government officials, NGOs and the media attended and were given the opportunity to provide comments on the draft Action Plan defining the persons responsible for implementing it, a timeline for the implementation of the set goals and an estimated impact on the budget. In August 2013, the Action Plan was also adopted. According to the Action Plan, the Ministry of Justice, the Anti-corruption Council, the Anticorruption Agency and Parliament were going to have monitoring roles to ensure that the Strategy is implemented according to the Action Plan. On 20-21 March, the Mission organized a workshop on anti-corruption investigation and prosecution for representatives of the MoI and the Prosecutor’s Office. The workshop introduced participants to an integrated police-prosecution response in investigating and prosecuting corruption cases using the Norwegian model for fighting corruption. Lecturers were prosecutors and investigators of the Anti-Corruption Team from the National Authority for the Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime in Norway. 23 participants from various MoI financial crime units and the Serbian prosecution service attended the event, including from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the Department for the Suppression of Financial Organized Crime, the Higher Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime, the Administration for the Prevention of Money Laundering, and the Anti-Corruption Agency. Participants learned about setting up a national unit to investigate and prosecute financial and environmental crime; and about prosecutor-led investigations with a multidisciplinary team approach. A case study illustrated the added value of this model. The aim of the workshop was to foster multidisciplinary cooperation in the context of Serbia’s new CPC which envisages prosecutor-led investigations. From 20-21 May, the Mission, in partnership with the US Department of Justice, organized a workshop for 20 public prosecutors and officials from the Public Procurement Office (PPO) in Belgrade. Participants examined case studies of alleged corruption in public procurement procedures. The prosecutors and PPO officials exchanged experiences and views on how to 94