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Activities

28 May 2026 The participants of the meeting (photo © National Assembly / Milos Miskov)

Thursday, 28 May 2026

Head of Standing Delegation to PACE Presented CV of Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General Candidate

The Head of the standing delegation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Biljana Pantic Pilja, met with the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to the Republic of Serbia, Frederik Develter, and the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Republic of Serbia, Martijn Elgersma. The meeting was also attended by a standing delegation member Aleksandar Mirkovic.

The candidate for the position of Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Tanja Gonggrijp, was presented at the meeting, and the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Martijn Elgersma, informed the members of the National Assembly delegation in more detail about the candidate's goals and vision. The basic idea of her activities will be focused on the interests of the organisation and finding solutions that are acceptable to all member states.

Biljana Pantic Pilja said that she was familiar with the candidate's CV, which she assessed as impressive, and emphasised that the information would be forwarded to the members of the delegation. She expressed her readiness to continue the good cooperation with the presented candidate, stressing that the Serbian delegation is very active in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

In that context, she drew attention to the insufficient level of dialogue between individual member states, which is a challenge of its own, since not all countries are able to participate equally in the organisation’s work due to the suspensions or withdrawals of certain states, which makes the functioning and quality of interstate dialogue more difficult.

She underlined that respect for international law is an absolute priority for the Republic of Serbia, and it is unacceptable for Serbia that the so-called Kosovo applies for membership in the Council of Europe, stressing that international law must apply equally to everyone, and that the territorial integrity and sovereignty of every state are inviolable. She expressed her expectation that whoever is elected to this position will consistently respect international law.

The member of the standing delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Aleksandar Mirkovic, said that the direction of future cooperation if the proposed candidate is elected is of particular importance for the Serbian side, as well as the need to intensify and improve cooperation between delegations.

The Belgian Ambassador expressed satisfaction with the open discussion, stressing that, although there are differences in views regarding Kosovo, there is room to improve dialogue and mutual understanding.

Photo gallery: © National Assembly / Milos Miskov