PRESS RELEASES

Compared to the previous report of the coalition prEUgovor, in the implementation of policies under Chapters 23 and 24 there was no progress in four out of seven monitored areas, whereas in the area of media freedoms there was a decline.

EU integration process and the perspective of Albanian - Serbian Relations was the overall topic of the 7th Security Research Forum ‘Belgrade-Prishtina-Tirana’ held in Tirana on 13 November 2014.

This publication focuses on challenges in cooperation between governments and civil society organizations in the Western Balkan countries in six selected areas covered by chapters 23 and 24 of the accession negotiations with the European Union: effective monitoring of the implementation of action plans and strategies; human rights issues; migration and asylum policies; the judiciary and justice system; anti-corruption policies and activities; and civic education.

How to integrate a gender perspective in programs, policies, and budget of the Ministry of Interior (MoI), and then monitor progress in achieving gender equality in the police force, were the main topics of the seminar ’’Gender equality and gender-sensitive indicators in the police; which was held from 15th to 17th of October at Hotel Relax in Kovačica.

BCSP Director Sonja Stojanovic Gajic took part in a visit to France program, organized by the French Ministry of Defense from October 6th to 10th 2014.

Serbia should contribute to finding solution for the current European crisis by enhancing the dialogue between EU and Russia was the key message of the fourth Belgrade Security Forum. The conference which took place from September 30th - October 2nd gathered more than 500 politicians and experts on foreign policy and security, representatives of civil society organizations and domestic and international media.

More than 100 representatives from Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior, Security-Intelligence Agency, independent government institutions, many embassies and international organizations in Serbia, as well as students, civil society organizations and media have gathered at conference on integrity in the security sector organized by BCSP.

How to sit in a chair, what to do when being interrupted in the middle of a sentence, should you give off the record comments during the small talk with a host, these are just a few skills BCSP researchers learned at the training for TV appearances.

The debate organized by the BCSP outlined clear legal framework, procedures, appropriate control, and independence from any sort of political influence as requirements in order to strengthen the security services integrity.

How to write a policy paper, what distinguishes think-tank organizations of other civil society organizations and what include chapters 23 and 24 of the negotiations with the EU are among the topics on which the XVI generation of interns discussed with the BCSP research team during the first seminar, held on the 1st and 3rd September.

Strengthening the integrity in the security sector was the subject of expert consultations which gathered 28 representatives of the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior, Security-Information Agency, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, the Ombudsman, the Commissioner for Information of Public importance and Personal Data Protection, Agency for fighting against corruption, the Public Procurement Office and the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, from 9 to 11 July at Fruska Gora.

Working group for Chapter 24 operates within the National Convent on the European Union in order to monitor the process of negotiations between Serbia and EU in the areas of freedom, security and justice. The group is consisted of representatives from civil society, the media and professional associations as well as individuals who are engaged in policies in these areas.