Prof. Dr Zarko Obradovic briefed the delegation of the Conference of International NGOs on the work of the Serbian delegation to PACE mentioning that the former Head of the delegation Aleksandra Djurovic was rapporteur on the topic of status and protection of NGOs in Europe. Obradovic said that Serbia is currently in the PACE’s monitoring stage with 10 open EU negotiation chapters, with the aim of transitioning into the post-monitoring stage as soon as possible. He said that the National Assembly is one of the most transparent institutions in the Republic of Serbia and has as such been commended as a best practice example among the parliaments of the world for its openness and outreach. “Cooperation between NGOs and the MPs takes form of informal parliamentary groups which foster close ties with the civil sector”, said Obradovic. As examples he mentioned the National Convention on the European Union and its close cooperation with the European Integration Committee, the Green Chair which attends every sitting of the Environmental Protection Committee, the National Assembly’s Women’s Parliamentary Network and the Economic Caucus and its cooperation with business oriented NGOs. As Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Obradovic said that in early November the National Assembly House hosted a public hearing on “Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals: Role of the National Assembly”, organized by the Committee he chairs, to which 30 NGOs were invited. On the other hand, he also said that in the last ten years the Foreign Affairs Committee had not received a single initiative from the civil society.

The President of the Conference of International NGOs Anna Rurka said that in her meeting with the Serbian NGOs she got the impression that though the country has a good legislative framework, practicing it is a challenge. The delegation of the Conference of International NGOs had questions about personal data protection, how the National Assembly chooses which NGOs to cooperate with and how the institutional balance between the executive and legislative is maintained in the legislative process and how involved NGOs are in it.

Obradovic said that Serbia had passed the Law on Personal Data Protection and has a Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, but the general impression is that the public is still not fully aware of its rights. Speaking about the selection of NGOs Obradovic said that the National Assembly Support Service, with the help of international partner organizations, invites the NGOs, at the same time adding that the National Assembly is open to all NGOs willing to cooperate.