The conference was opened by the National Assembly Speaker, Dr Nebojsa Stefanovic who said that Serbia is dedicated to its progress to Europe and emphasised the important role the National Assembly plays in the process. He also pointed out that Serbia needs to continue working on the reform process and that the state is determined to remain on the road of democracy and respect of human and minority rights. The Assembly also does its best to make sure the laws it passes promote civil rights.
The participants of the Conference were also addressed by Vincent Degert, Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, and the European Parliament’s rapporteur for Serbia Jelko Kacin who congratulated the National Assembly, Government and the citizens on the opening of talks with the European Union. He shared the experience Slovenia garnered in its European Union accession process stressing the importance of the role the National Assembly plays in the process as a place of essential debate, and, via its relevant committees, of efficient control over the work of military and civilian security services.
The Chairman of the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality, Meho Omerovic spoke of the Committee’s activities as regards human rights protection, saying that Serbia has ratified all the conventions and passed laws that ensure human rights protection. The Chairperson of the Committee on Labour, Social Issues, Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction, Milica Dronjak pointed out how important it is to monitor the implementation of the conclusions adopted at the Committee’s sittings.
Deputy Chairman of the European Integration Committee Lazlo Varga emphasised the importance of the recently passed Declaration of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Condemning the Acts against Hungarian Civilians in Vojvodina Committed from 1944-1945. He proposed that the National Assembly should also pass an act defining Serbia’s EU accession process and pointed out the need to amend the Rules of Procedure to revise the Committee’s duties in the EU accession process.
Commissioner for Protection of Equality Nevena Petrusic, President of the State Audit Institution Council Radoslav Sretenovic, Deputy Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection Aleksandar Resanovic, Deputy Ombudsman Milos Jankovic and Deputy Director of the Anti-Corruption Agency Vladan Joksimovic spoke of the role of independent institutions in promoting and protecting civil rights. They spoke of the work of independent bodies, their relationship and cooperation with the National Assembly and its working bodies, how they submit reports and deal with the citizens’ complaints about the public administration bodies.
In the discussion, MPs Gordana Comic, Natasa Vuckovic, Dubravka Filipovski, Dragan Sormaz and the representatives of civil society spoke about the need to intensify communication between the MPs and the citizens and about faulty interpretations of the law by certain institutions which lead to civil rights violations.
In the conclusion, Meho Omerovic, who chaired the conference, said that the National Assembly should play a big role in bringing the European integration process closer to the Serbian citizens as regards the benefits and obligations to come, while Jelko Kacin pointed out that the role of independent institutions and their financial independence need to be strengthened. He also said that the fight against corruption calls for a systematic approach by the state institutions which should take a pro-active attitude in addressing all issues.