France supports the coalition “prEUgovor” in the monitoring of Chapters 23 and 24

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Investing in knowledge of civil society organizations is crucial support required to become equal participants in the negotiation process, said the BCSP Director Sonja Stojanovic Gajic at the conference organised on Wednesday 23rd October 2013 by the French Embassy in Serbia and the coalition “prEUgovor” (in English “preEUnup”).

BCSP Director pointed out that it is very important that civil society is on time involved in the process of negotiations with the EU.

The BCSP Director explained that the goal of the member organizations of the coalition “prEUgovor” is not to become part of the negotiating teams, but to monitor the process, from three angles:

• Is what’s said on paper done in practice?
• Is the implementation in the interest of the citizens?
• Are reforms sustainable?

The partnership convention was signed between France (French Embassy in Serbia, Permanent Representation of France to the United Nations and international organizations in Vienna), and organization ASTRA, representing the coalition “prEUgovor”. 

French ambassador in Belgrade François-Xavier Deniau pointed out that France thinks that it is very important that the EU negotiation process is not limited to technical discussions between Serbian and European administrations experts, but that all citizens of Serbia should have the opportunity to contribute to major advances in the field of democracy and the rule of law. Therefore, France supports the goals of the coalition “prEUgovor” addressing her financial assistance.

“prEUgovor” is formed on the initiative of Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) with the mission to propose measures to improve the condition in the fields relevant for the negotiation process. In doing so, the coalition aims to use the process of EU integration to help accomplish substantial progress in further democratization of Serbian society. Coalition “prEUgovor” members are: Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP), ASTRA, Center for Investigative Reporting in Serbia (CINS), Center for Applied European Studies (CPES), Group 484 and Transparency Serbia (TS). 

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