On 22 September 2022, European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi and Acting Supreme State Prosecutor of Montenegro Maja Jovanović signed a Working Arrangement. The Arrangement entered into force on the same day. It aims at facilitating judicial cooperation and exchange of strategic and other non-operational information between the EPPO and the Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office (SSPO) of Montenegro. The parties agreed to cooperate by applying the relevant multilateral instruments for judicial cooperation in criminal matters when it comes to the gathering of evidence, the freezing of assets and extradition of persons sought. They may also cooperate by setting up joint investigation teams on the basis of special agreements in accordance with the Second Protocol to the CoE MLA Convention.

Furthermore, the Arrangement foresees that the SSPO may second a liaison officer to the EPPO’s headquarter in Luxembourg and the EPPO has a contact point in Podgorica, Montenegro. Rules on the protection of personal data for the exchange of information complement the Arrangement.

A similar Working Arrangement was signed with the Prosecution Service of Georgia on 28 September 2022, which entered into force on the same day.