The half-day conference titled “Walking the (Barb)wire: Balkans between the War and Peace,” organised by the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, was the opportunity to present and discuss the findings of the latest edition of the Balkan Defence Monitor, as well as of the public opinion poll on regional relations.

We present you the new Balkan Defence Monitor - independent and comprehensive source of information regarding defence topics in the region.

At the annual meeting of the Southeast Europe Coalition on Whistleblower Protection, held on February 3, 2023, in Sarajevo, the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy became a member of this network.

In this document, colleagues from the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights analyze the position of the Ombudsman (Protector of Citizens) from the point of view of the attitude of the National Assembly and the Government of the Republic of Serbia toward the Ombudsman’s regular annual reports.

BCSP Researcher Marija Ignjatijević analyses parliamentary oversight of the police in Serbia through the lens of the European integration process and offers recommendations on how to connect it to the negotiating Chapter 24 – Justice, Freedom and Security.

How citizens can point out irregularities in the work of public enterprises and public utility companies, which operate in a very non-transparent manner in Serbia, read in the case study written by the Program Director of Transparency Serbia, Nemanja Nenadić.

The topic of this meeting was reporting and discussion on the results of the implementation of the revised Action Plan for Chapter 24. Additionally, both progresses achieved in Chapter 24 and the work on the Draft Law on Internal Affairs were presented. The continuation of the dialogue of the Working Group for Chapter 24 of the National Convention on the European Union (NCEU), which is coordinated by BCSP and the Negotiating Group for Chapter 24, which is coordinated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP), is planned, including regarding the text of the Draft from the point of view of reaching the transitional criteria in this chapter.

In connection to yesterday’s announcement in which it was declared that six migrants were arrested (among them two people suspected of having committed criminal acts) in an operation aimed at suppressing criminal activity and felonies committed by migrants and in connection to a statement given by the minister Vulin that not one smuggling gang will pass, Belgrade Centre for Security Policy and the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights – YUCOM, demand that the Prosecutor’s office for organized crime, during the processing of human smuggling perpetrators, seriously investigate all the information about the connection between senior officials in the Ministry of Interior and the smugglers.

This report examines the Chinese presence in Serbia through a human security lens, in terms of how it impacts the quality of life and the security of local communities.