UN crime report says Balkans is ‘one of the safest’ in Europe

TIRANA, May 28 – A report produced from the United Nations said that what was once the hotbed of crime and violence _ Balkans and the southeastern European region _ has now become one of the safest zones in Europe following the wars in Yugoslavia and a post-communist transition in most of its states.
“The vicious circle of political instability leading to crime, and vice versa, that plagued the Balkans in the 1990s has been broken,” said Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) which compiled the report, who urged the region to strengthen the rule of law, and called on the international community, particularly the European Union, to provide the support needed to further reduce vulnerability to crime and instability in the region. The report entitled “Crime and Its Impact on the Balkans” said the region _ Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Bulgaria, Romania, Montenegro and Serbia _ still remained vulnerable to instability caused by enduring links between business, politics and organized crime. The UNODC report shows that serious challenges persist, “particularly due to links between business, politics and crime.” (Tirana Times Staff)