On the occasion, the delegation members discussed the fight against corruption and organised crime, cooperation between the central and local governments and the position of minorities, economic development, with a special focus on the energy sector, judiciary reform, as well as the relations between Belgrade and Pristina. The members of the European Integration Committee delegation informed their European Parliament counterparts on each of the topics, speaking of the current situation, while the Members of the European Parliament shared their assessment of the degree of reform achieved and what still needed to be done in the period leading up to the new progress report on Serbia.
They agreed in the estimate that Serbia has achieved visible progress in meeting the political criteria for EU membership and has earned the right to be given a start date for the EU accession talks in June, with further efforts on normalizing the relations with Pristina and the implementation of the agreements reached in the dialogue so far, remaining the crucial factor.
They emphasised the importance of the role the National Assembly plays in the approach to the EU, hoping that this is the last meeting in this format since after the last remaining EU member, Lithuania, has ratified the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, a Joint Committee on Stabilisation and Association will be formed, comprising members of the National Assembly and the European Parliament.
The completion of the meeting was followed by the adoption of a Joint Statement of the Chairpersons of the two delegations commending the past efforts and urging the Government of the Republic of Serbia to continue the democratic, systemic and socio-economic reforms in order to assume the obligations of EU membership more efficiently. They stressed the importance of the parliament’s control role and involvement of civil society in the dialogue process, underlining the responsibility the participants in the dialogue have to convey its results to the citizens, truthfully and clearly. The two sides commended the Government’s dedication to the fight against corruption and organised crime, expressing support for the work of the judiciary and independent state bodies, and the need for their constant strengthening.
The delegation, headed by the Chairperson of the European Integration Committee, Milica Delevic, comprised Committee Deputy Chairman Laszlo Varga, Committee members Jadranka Joksimovic, Dijana Vukomanovic, Mladen Grujic, Mira Petrovic, Jelena Trivan, Slobodan Samardzic, Ivan Andric, as well as MPs Biljana Pantic Pilja and Slavica Saveljic.
The meeting was attended by the Minister of Justice and Public Administration, Nikola Selakovic, and the Director of the European Integration Office, Milan Pajevic, as well as Pierre Mirel, Director of the Department for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Enlargement.

You can download the Joint Statement by the Chairpersons of the Delegations here.