OSCE PA President Ranko Krivokapic, 18 March 2014.SARAJEVO, 19 March 2014 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ranko Krivokapic has said that security in South East Europe is still a "burning issue," stemming not from the threat of ethnic conflict but from incomplete democratization and organized crime.

Addressing the NATO Parliamentary Assembly's Rose-Roth Seminar in Sarajevo on 18 March, Krivokapic said: "Threats to security in the region nowadays are different from those that led to tragic conflicts, but are by no means less real. Today the key to security in the region is in the full, consistent, genuine democratization of our societies, countries and institutions. That said, organized crime and corruption is perhaps the most obvious threat, as war criminals have been replaced by organized criminals."

Krivokapic, who is also Speaker of the Montenegrin Parliament, warned against regarding the fight against organized crime and corruption as "homework that South Eastern European countries need to complete to get closer to Euro-Atlantic structures."

"If so, that fight is sentenced to failure. Victory will only come as a result of our true recognition that law and justice should be a cornerstone of our societies, our lives and our overall worldview," he said.

Krivokapic also highlighted the contributions made by the OSCE and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to democratization in the Western Balkans. He announced that the PA is currently preparing a draft resolution on regional co-operation in South East Europe that will be presented at the Annual Session in Baku this summer.

Following his speech, the President held meetings with a range of high-level officials, including members of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Vjekoslav Bevanda, Chairman of the Council of Ministers; Zlatko Lagumdzija, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Milorad Zivkovic, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Stasa Kosarac, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Dragan Durovic, Ambassador of Montenegro to Bosnia and Herzegovina; and Mirsada Bukaric-Kovacevic, Head of the International Relations and Protocol Department of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Discussions centered on the upcoming general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Parliamentary Assembly's plans to monitor the vote, the recent street protests in the country and bilateral Montenegro-BiH issues.

Roberto Battelli (MP, Slovenia), the OSCE PA Special Representative on South East Europe, accompanied Krivokapic in Sarajevo. He met on 19 March with the Central Election Commission and the BiH Delegation to the PA. This year's elections in the country and planned PA initiatives in the region were discussed.