Aleksandar Cotric pointed out that St. Sava’s Day has been acknowledged as the national holiday of Serbs in Macedonia, the celebration of which, on 27 January, was the reason for the visit to Macedonia.

The Committee went on to unanimously accept the information on the meeting with the President of the Serbian Cultural Society Prosvjeta from Vienna, Srdjan Mijalkovic.

Dr Slavka Draskovic, Director of the Office for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region, presented the conclusions of the constituting session of the new legislature of the Council of Serbs in the Region, held on 28 March 2013. The Committee members confirmed, by a majority of votes, that they had accepted the verbal Information and requested that the Office Director forward the minutes of the constituting session of the Council of Serbs in the Region.

Dr Slavka Draskovic also informed the Committee of the Proposal of Instructions for the representatives of the ministries of the Republic of Serbia in the relations with the diaspora and Serbs in the region. Following a short discussion focusing on the problems Serbs in the region come up against when applying for Serbian citizenship and possible cooperation between Serbia and the Republic of Srpska as regards the diaspora, related to joint projects and establishment of joint groups, the Committee members confirmed that they are aware of the Instructions Proposal that the Government will rule on, by a majority of votes.

The Committee members were also addressed by representatives of the Serbian cultural society Dawn (Zora), who outlined the problems related to the return of Serbian refugees into Croatia.

The sitting was chaired by Aleksandar Cotric, Committee Chairman.