16.11.2016.

SHARE

News:

Dialogue of civil society and the Parliament necessary for Serbia’s European path

The first meeting of the working group of the National Convention on the EU with the new Assembly Defense and Internal Affairs Committee and the European Integration Committee was held on November 15th 2016, at the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia

‘In the upcoming period, the key is to monitor reforms in the context of Chapter 24 and whether this process will indeed bring prosperity to citizens in the field of safety, protection of rights and access to justice’, said BCSP Director Sonja Stojanovic Gajic, opening the consultative meeting of the working group of the NCEU on Chapter 24 coordinated by BCSP, and MPs both from the ruling coalition and the opposition.

She presented the policies contained by Chapter 24 and the key actors in civil society in Serbia and the region, but also added that civil society organizations and the Committee should be allies, and should consider ways of future cooperation.

‘The NGO sector provides assistance to the authorities in preparing the first report on the implementation of the EU Action Plan for Chapter 24 relating to justice, freedom and security, which must be filed by the end of the year,’ said Stojanovic Gajic.

During the meeting, each organization of the NCEU Working Group for Chapter 24 presented its work and pointed out how their expertise can contribute to more effective implementation of policies in these areas.

‘The dialogue of civil society organizations with the Parliament and the Government of Serbia is of great importance for the path towards the EU,’ said President of the Defense and Internal Affairs Committee Marija Obradovic.

She pointed out that it is necessary to work with MPs, as they are representatives of the people and vote on laws that affect all citizens.

‘MPs are not familiar enough with the complex process of EU accession negotiations and this is why NGOs are an excellent corrective. Thus, this working group has helped the government a lot in the preparation of the Action Plan on the basis of which the negotiations on Chapter 24 were opened, ‘ said Obradovic.

Organizations that make up the working group of the NCEU on Chapter 24 are: Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, European Policy Centre, Centre for Investigative Journalism in Serbia, Public Policy Research Centre, Center for Civil Society Development – PROTECTA, Asylum Protection Center, Judges’ Association of Serbia, Group 484, Juzne vesti, Praxis, Association of Public Prosecutors and Deputy Public Prosecutors of Serbia, Victimology Society of Serbia and Share Foundation.

The Working Group of the National Convention on the European Union has had 10 sessions since the beginning of its work in July 2014, and it brings together 15 organizations that are active in reforms related to migration policy, asylum, the fight against organized crime, the fight against terrorism and police cooperation.

Report was translated by BCSP Intern Andrijana Gavrilovic.

 

 

Tags: ..., affairs, assembly, civil, committee, convention, defense, dialogue, european, first, group, integration, internal, meeting, national, november, parliament, republic, serbia, society, working

RELATED