A seminar titled “Contribution to the Modernisation and Democratisation of the Parliaments of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro”, organised by the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Italian Parliament’s House of Deputies and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Institute for the Relations between Italy and the Countries of Africa, Latin America, Middle and Far East (IPALMO) and Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, was held between 9 and 14 June, in the House of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia.

The seminar was intended for members of parliament and employees of expert services of the National Assembly, and included the Ambassador of the Republic of Italy in Serbia, Alessandro Merola and university professors from Rome, Belgrade and Novi Sad. Opening the seminar, member of parliament Dr Dragoljub Micunovic stressed that at the recent extraordinary parliamentary elections Serbia clearly confirmed its determination for a speedy integration into Europe. We have the political resources and the support of the majority of citizens for it, Micunovic said, but the upcoming social reforms cannot be accomplished without changes in the sphere of education, especially at University. Micunovic pointed out the good overall relations between Serbia and Italy and the need to intensify the cooperation of the two countries’ parliaments.

The seminar covered the following topics: “Process of Democratisation in Europe: the Role of Parliamentary Assemblies”, “Normative and Legislative Functions of Parliamentary Assemblies”, “Government’s Responsibility Towards the Parliament”, “Parliamentary References, Focusing on Parliamentary Information and Documentation Services”. The participants of the seminar exchanged the working experiences of the Serbian and Italian parliaments, jointly concluding that, in the upcoming period, the Serbian National Assembly will have an important role in securing institutional preconditions for a speedier inclusion into the European Union and that the new convocation has ahead of it the large task of aligning domestic legislature with that of the EU. At the occasion, the Italian guests particularly stressed the need to strengthen two new dimensions of the parliament, namely parliamentary control of the government’s work and coordination with European institutions.

On the last day of work, 14 June, a roundtable with the topic “Serbia in the process of stabilisation and association with the EU” was held, in which the participants of the seminar were joined by member of parliament Oliver Dulic and IPALMO Institute Chairman Gianni De Michelis. All participants agreed that there is no alternative to the economic and political processes of European integrations, despite occasional setbacks, and that Serbia and its institutions have ahead of them the great task of institutional and economic association and integration.

After the completion of the roundtable, member of parliament Dr Dragoljub Micunovic and the Italian guests held a press conference at the small hall of the National Assembly House.