Organised Crime Conference to Include Balkan States

Balkan countries are expected to be among nations discussed in Italy by an international forum focussing on fighting organised crime.

The first edition of the international forum on illegal economies, organised crime and financial globalisation is running until September 3 in the Italian town of Otranto.

Some of the seminars will focus on Balkans countries such as Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro.

The five-day event, dubbed the Otranto Legality Experience, OLE, will be made of more than 30 debates, seminars and workshops and will include live music concerts, the screening of documentaries and visits to properties confiscated from organised crime syndicates.

Vittorio Agnoletto, the cultural co-ordinator of OLE, said: “Organised crime is behaving more and more in an international dimension and ... [some organisations] have become even more powerful than some countries.

“During the Forum we will try to understand how Europe, its countries and civil society can develop necessary anti-corruption measures before this cancer devours our common future.”

The event is organised by Freedom Legality And Rights in Europe, FLARE, a network made of civil society organisations working against mafias and trans-national organised crime.

The forum is open to 200 participants from around the world.

International guests and panellists include: Andrea Baranes, Director of Campaign for World Bank Reform; Giancarlo Caselli, Italian Public Prosecutor; Luigi Ciotti, President of Libera; Saro Crocetta, MEP and former Mayor of Palermo; Hans Nilsson, Head of Division Council of the EU; Moni Ovadia; Pedro Paez, Former Minister of Finances in Ecuador.