The Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Prof. Dr Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic spoke at the Conference of assembly committees charged with poverty reduction issues in Western Balkan states and Turkey held at the National Assembly House and organised by the National Assembly and Regional Cooperation Council with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Belgrade.

The Conference is a forum to exchange examples of good practice and discuss potential joint initiatives aimed at speeding up the European integration process. The event was symbolically organised in 2010, the year declared by the European Union the year of fight against poverty and social exclusions.

In her address, the Speaker said:

The topic of today’s gathering requires a partnership necessary to face up to our common challenge – the fight against poverty and social exclusion. The partnership implies cooperation not only between the governments and parliaments of our respective countries, but civil society too, as well as international organisations, private sector, the media and other interested participants.

The Republic of Serbia’s dedication to full integration into the European Union and adoption of its legal legacies is not only an international legal act but our country’s political and economic interest as well. In the context of European integration, it is extremely important that the Western Balkan states harmonise their national legal system with the European Union legal legacy, as well as sustain the existing and develop new models of cooperation on the regional level.

As an important task in the EU accession process, the Republic of Serbia defined the active participation in the European process of social inclusion and poverty reduction.

With it in mind, Serbia has implemented, inter alia, the following activities:

· In the realisation of the Millennium Goals defined in 2000, great progress has been achieved in the sphere of poverty since the overall poverty rate has been significantly reduced, infant, child and maternal mortality rates have dropped, and the rate of completion of compulsory education is still on a constantly high level.

· In 2003 the RS Government passed a Poverty Reduction Strategy placing the issue into the wider framework of state development and European integration. The Strategy, implemented by four consecutive governments, contains the analysis of causes, characteristics and profiles of poverty in Serbia, as well as major strategic guidelines for social development and poverty reduction. Thanks to its implementation, the poverty rate has been halved in the period from 2003 to 2008. Still, the global economic crisis to a great extent canceled out the positive effects of the implementation of the Strategy so that compared to 2008 the number of poor is unfortunately on the rise.

· At the beginning of 2010 the Government organised a Task Group for social inclusion which gives proposals for Serbia’s active participation in the social inclusion process within the European integration and proposes measures for the drafting and implementation of social inclusion policies.

· The role of the Poverty Reduction Committee, constituted as a NARS standing working body since 2004, is of key importance for the comprehensive implementation of the national poverty reduction mechanism. The Committee takes active part in the implementation of the National Strategy, monitors and analyses the effects of the adopted laws, debates the new legal solutions from the aspect of poverty reduction and prevention, all of which the Committee Chairperson, Mrs. Stojanovic-Plavsic will speak more.

· Some of the most important laws adopted by the NARS in the current convocation which regulate the poverty issue are: Anti-Discrimination Law, Law on Employment and Insurance in Case of Unemployment, Law on Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities, Law on Social Housing, Law on the Basis of the System of Education and Upbringing, Law amending and modifying the Law on Financial Support for Families with Children, Refugee Law etc.

Honoured participants,

I hope that in the conclusions of the Conference we shall come up with adequate methods of regional cooperation which will serve as guidelines in future inter-parliamentary contacts. The symbolism of 2010, declared by the European Union the year of fight against poverty and social exclusion obliges us to it. The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and the Poverty Reduction Committee will continue to work at full capacity by adopting new laws, increased control of their implementation, European integration and achievement of the Millennium Goals by 2015, from poverty to prosperity, with a special focus on resolving these issues in the region. In the harmonisation with the Europe 2020 Agenda, cooperation with the colleagues from the region and the European Parliament will be invaluable to all of us.