EU

Some progress was made in the process of normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo, drafting the new Law on Police and establishment of the Office for Asylum, whereas no progress was made in the area of rule of law, gender equality, preventing violence against women, protection of the victims of trafficking in human beings, systemic management of migrations, were the conclusions of the prEUgovor network’s representatives.

Reports on progress of Serbia in the area of justice, freedom and security will be semiannually presented to citizens. These documents will be available at Ministry of Interior website, and consultations with civil society organizations interested in this process will be organized on this occasion.

The coalition prEUgovor has been monitoring Serbia’s progress in regard to the adherence to political criteria for EU membership and policies covered under Chapters 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) and 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security) of the European acquis in the negotiation process.

The drafting process and the content of the Action Plan for Chapter 24 were a topic for the first time in the discussion that gathered the President of the Negotiating Team and coordinators for all 10 policies within the chapter, more than 20 CSO and a great number of media representatives, at the session of the National Convention’s Working Group for Chapter 24.

Civil society organizations request from the Ministry of Interior to publish the Draft Action Plan for Chapter 24 (Justice, Freedom, and Security) and enable interested stakeholders to participate in its preparation.

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.

The report is structured to present findings relevant to the policy areas covered in the European Commission’s Progress Report for Serbia for 2014, as well as to highlight additional important issues. This report contains a separate chapter related to the process of producing Action Plan for the chapter 23 and also a special segment devoted to the problems that emerged after the floods that hit Serbia in May, including inappropriate responses by the state institutions and the corruption risks that appeared in the aftermath of these events.

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.