Opening the gathering, the Chairman of the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality, Meho Omerovic pointed out the need to continue improving the position of the Roma population in Serbia, emphasising the importance of using IPA funds to achieve Roma inclusion and social integration. To ensure an effective use of said funds, all relevant factors, governmental institutions and civil society organisations need to take part in project creation and implementation, said Omerovic.
The participants were addressed by the National Assembly Speaker, MA Nebojsa Stefanovic, who emphasised the importance of the National Assembly, as the supreme legislative body, for the creation of better living conditions for all of the citizens, and socially vulnerable categories in particular. Speaker Stefanovic also highlighted the significant contribution of the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality to the improvement of the status of socially vulnerable population categories and the Roma community among them.
Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to Serbia Adriano Martins outlined the role the EU Delegation to Serbia plays in coordinating the donors and planning and programming the IPA 2014-2020 in Serbia concerning the improvement of the status of the Roma community. Martins said that past projects have achieved positive results as regards Roma healthcare and employment in Serbia.
MP Srdjan Sajn spoke of the importance of the parliament’s legislative and oversight role for the improvement of the position of the Roma community in Serbia.
The participants were also addressed by the President of the Roma National Community Council, Vitomir Mihajlovic, who spoke of the efficiency of the use of the funds and donations of the EU and international organisations. He stressed that the implementation of said projects needs better control and assessment so as to avoid misuse of funds.
Zarko Sunderic, Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Team Manager at the Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration of the Republic of Serbia, presented the activities implemented to improve the status of Roma after the adoption of the Strategy for the Improvement of the Status of Roma in the Republic of Serbia in 2009, while the Director of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina Roma Inclusion Office, Dusko Jovanovic, spoke of the experience and results achieved by the programmes and initiatives for the improvement of the status of Roma in Vojvodina.
The Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Democratisation Office, Jan Lueneburg, stressed that the OSCE Mission to Serbia supports the efforts of the state and civil society organisations aimed at achieving the inclusion and integration of Roma in Serbia.
Ivan Knezevic, representative of the European Movement in Serbia, presented the experience gained in the use of IPA for 2007-2013 in Serbia, while the European Integration Office European Union Funds Coordinator Ognjen Miric spoke of the challenges and perspectives of the new Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance IPA 2, for the period 2014-2020.
Osman Balic of the Organisation for assistance to Roma on the territory of former Yugoslavia (YUROM) highlighted the role of Roma coordinators in the implementation and monitoring of EU funded projects.
The gathering was attended by MPs, representatives of state authorities, MPs from Western Balkan countries, representatives of international organisations and civil society organisations dealing with Roma community status issues. In the course of the discussion, the participants emphasised the need to strengthen the capacities and improve networking between Roma NGOs for the use of EU pre-accession funds. They also noted the need for a more efficient implementation of affirmative measures for the education and employment of the members of the Roma community in Serbia.