8 November 2022  European Integration Committee Chairperson Elvira Kovacs takes part in the regional conference

8 November 2022 European Integration Committee Chairperson Elvira Kovacs takes part in the regional conference

Tuesday, 8 November 2022

European Integration Committee Chairperson Takes Part in Regional Conference

At the invitation of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and as part of the Promotion of EU Integration project, the Chairperson of the European Integration Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Ms Elvira Kovacs took part in the regional conference "Analysis of Parliamentary Work in the Field of European Integration in the Western Balkans - Report", held on 8 and 9 November 2022 in Budva Montenegro.


The chairpersons and deputy chairpersons of the European integration committees and secretaries general of all the parliaments in the Western Balkans were invited to the conference. The conference was attended by national and international experts engaged by GIZ, who worked on the preparation of the document analysing the work of parliamentary committees on European integration.

The objective of the conference was for the MPs and general secretaries of parliaments in the Western Balkans to exchange experiences and share good practices, as well as for the experts to presentation the document "Analysis of Parliamentary Work in the Field of European Integration in the Western Balkans - Report".

European Integration Committee Chairperson Elvira Kovacs presented the competencies of the Committee she heads and the role of the National Assembly in the process of European integration. She stressed that the process of accession to the European Union a strategic commitment and foreign policy priority is for Serbia.

She noted the importance of the Resolution on the Role of the National Assembly and Principles in the Negotiations on the Accession of the Republic of Serbia to the European Union adopted in 2013, which emphasises the necessity to include the National Assembly committees whose scope covers issues concerning relevant negotiating positions into the process of monitoring the accession negotiations, while the European Integration Committee plays the central role in coordinating all the activities. She went on to explain the procedure for considering the proposals of negotiating positions in the Republic of Serbia’s EU accession process.

The European Integration Committee considers in principle all the bills submitted by the Government, which harmonise national regulations with the European Union acquis.

The involvement of all the citizens and civil society organizations in Serbia’s EU accession negotiation process is extremely important for it. In that regard, she particularly emphasised the well-established cooperation between the European Integration Committee and the National Convention on the European Union.

She mentioned that the European Commission's 2022 Report on Serbia praised the Assembly’s constructive work on the inter-party dialogue and the fact that after the parliamentary elections, the Assembly has become more pluralistic.

She said that the European Integration Committee consists of 17 members and 17 deputy members, noting that all the Committee members, except for one, are Euro-enthusiasts. She also pointed to a good practice that exists in the Assembly, namely that some of the members of the European Integration Committee are at the same time members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee.

The cooperation between the National Assembly and the European Parliament (EP) takes place primarily through the meetings of the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee (SAPC), which are held twice a year, the next meeting being scheduled for the end of November 2022 in Strasbourg. Elvira Kovacs pointed out that the key to the SAPC’s work is consideration of all the aspects of relations between Serbia and the European Union and all the important political and economic issues in Serbia's European integration process, especially in the implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement.

The Committee Chairperson specifically referred to the presentation of the European Commission’s annual reports at the European Integration Committee’s sessions, by the Head of the EU Delegation in the Republic of Serbia. She explained that after the Report is presented, the members of the Committee, in their capacity as MPs, submit a conclusion proposal which is then discussed at a plenary session of the Assembly. She noted that this practice, which was established at the Committee’s initiative, was praised by the European Union, stressing it will be applied on the European Commission 2022 Report on Serbia.

The presentation of the work of the European integration committees by the other representatives of the parliaments was followed by the presentation of the work of the parliaments by the secretaries general.

The participants shared their experiences, answered questions and explained the work procedures within the scope of the European integration committees. After that, the experts presented the "Analysis of Parliamentary Work in the Field of European Integration in the Western Balkans - Report", including recommendations that can help strengthen the role of parliaments in the European integration process.



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thursday, 28 march
  • 9.00 - consultations of representatives of the parliamentary groups about the election of deputy chairpersons of the National Assembly working bodies (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, hall 1)

  • 10.00 - visit of the students of Stevan Dukic Elementary School to the National Assembly House (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square)

  • 11.00 - visit of the students of Drinka Pavlovic Elementary School Student Parliament to the National Assembly House (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square)

  • 11.00 - press conference of the Green-Left Front – Don’t Let Belgrade D(r)оwn Parliamentary Group (National Assembly House 13, Nikola Pasic Square. Central Hall)

  • 13.00 - the National Assembly Speaker meets with the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Serbia (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, Speaker’s Cabinet)

Full event calendar