In the course of the joint meeting with the Speaker of the UK House of Lords, the chairs and members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, European Integration Committee and the Parliamentary Friendship Group with the UK, discussed Serbia’s Euro-integration process, the National Assembly’s role in said process, the National Assembly’s position in the system of separation of powers in Serbia, public outreach and potentials for improving the cooperation between the Serbian and UK parliament.
Speaking with Baroness D’Souza, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Milos Aligrudic said that the majority of the MPs are in favour of Serbia’s Euro-integration, except for the MPs belonging to the Democratic Party of Serbia, like himself, who do not believe that Euro-integration is Serbia’s priority, rather believing that Serbia should build good bilateral relations with the European Union based on the principle of reciprocal benefit, primarily aimed toward Serbia’s economic development.
Talking about Serbia’s European integration process, European Integration Committee Chairperson Natasa Vuckovic said that the beginning of the negotiations process opens a new stage in the National Assembly’s work and that the ways in which the National Assembly is to take part in that process need to be discussed. The parliament’s control role is of particular importance in the process of following the talks, said Vuckovic, adding that the parliamentary mechanisms for the control of the enforcement of laws and oversight of the executive should be improved. The Committee Chairperson also said that a Draft Resolution which should define the National Assembly’s role in the European Union membership talks is currently in the works.
The Head of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with the UK, Dr Dijana Vukomanovic highlighted the traditionally friendly relations between Serbia and the UK, thanking the UK for the support it lends to Serbia’s European integration efforts. The Head of the Parliamentary Friendship Group emphasised the importance the UK Parliament’s experience can have in improving the National Assembly’s operation, especially focusing on the support of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy to the National Assembly’s efforts to open up to the public and the citizens.

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In the joint meeting with the delegation of the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality and the Women’s Parliamentary Network, the Chairman of the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality, Meho Omerovic, welcomed the Lord Speaker, expressing gratitude for the contributions many UK organisations have made toward achieving gender equality in Serbia and stressing that the National Assembly had ratified almost all international agreements relating to human rights protection. Omerovic also emphasised the importance of the cooperation the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality enjoys with independent regulatory bodies and the civil sector, announcing that, starting from the National Assembly’s autumn session, he would be inviting their representatives to every Committee sitting. The Committee Chairman also announced that he is expecting the ratification of the Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women in the same period.
Members of the Women’s Parliamentary Network Tamara Tripic, Dubravka Filipovski, Donka Banovic and Zlata Djeric said that the network was created by women MPs who decided to join forces, political affiliation notwithstanding, to address fundamental social issues such as discrimination against women, violence against women and participation of women in local self-governments. Speaking of the participation of women in Serbia’ political life, they stressed that, for the first time, 30% of the Serbian Members of Parliament are women, unlike in the executive where that number is lower. The members of the Women’s Parliamentary Network opined that considerable progress has been made in communication with the citizenship, thanks to project Open Parliament. They stressed that Serbia was one of the first countries to implement Council of Europe Resolution 1325, and is among the few countries whose implementation of the National Action Plan was given a positive assessment.
In the course of the meeting, Baroness Frances D’Souza was mostly interested in the communication between the Parliament and the Serbian citizens, position of national minorities and protection of women. She applauded the high percentage of women in the Serbian Parliament, opining that the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality and the Women’s Parliamentary Network have taken important steps toward protecting human rights, the rights of women and national minorities, which is conducive to the further democratisation of Serbian society.

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Lord Speaker of the UK House of Lords, Baroness Frances D’Souza, also met with the members of the Committee on Administrative, Budgetary, Mandate and Immunity Issues.
Greeting the Lord Speaker on the behalf of the Committee, Committee Deputy Chairman Nenad Konstantinovic said how satisfied he was with the cooperation with the UK Parliament, and especially the Westminster Foundation for Democracy which is assisting the National Assembly’s efforts on strengthening the role of the Parliament and the MPs in the reform processes in Serbia. He briefed Baroness D’Souza on the parliamentary reform launched in 2010 with the adoption of the Law on the National Assembly, new Rules of Procedure and introduction of e-Parliament, all aimed toward improving the National Assembly’s work and opening up toward the citizens and the public. He emphasised that the parliamentary reform and all the projects launched during the previous legislature have been continued after the change of government.
Baroness Frances D’Souza asked what particular experiences gained from the UK Parliament’s functioning may be helpful in improving the National Assembly’s operation. Konstantinovic said that would be, first and foremost, the parliament’s control role, deeming it the best practice the National Assembly should accept from the UK Parliament. Konstantinovic also added that, in the drafting of the National Assembly Code of Conduct, currently in its final stages, some ideas have been adopted from the UK and European Parliament’s Code of Conduct.
Taking part in the discussion, Committee members Dejan Mihajlov, Milisav Petronijevic, Olgica Batic and Vladimir Ilic, agreed that the National Assembly should continue to strengthen its capacities. Pointing out the need to strengthen the National Assembly’s control role and establish direct communication between the citizens and the MPs, they opined that an amendment to the election system should bring the parliament closer to the voters, and establish stronger ties between the MPs and the citizens, thus fostering the citizens’ trust and improving National Assembly’s public image.