3 December 2018 The Chairman and members of the European Integration Committee in meeting with the members of the German Bundestag

3 December 2018 The Chairman and members of the European Integration Committee in meeting with the members of the German Bundestag

Monday, 3 December 2018

European Integration Committee Meets with German Bundestag Delegation

The members of the European Integration Committee headed by Chairman Nenad Canak met with the members of the German Bundestag Renata Alt and Josip Juratovic to discuss Serbia’s Euro-integration, foreign and domestic policy plans.


Nenad Canak said that EU accession enjoys majority support in the parliament, adding that he as the Chairman of the European Integration Committee, comes from an opposition party which also supports Serbia’s European path.

According to the latest polls, EU accession enjoys 55% public support, while the reforms are backed by 70% of the population. The Committee Chairman said that the latest developments in Kosovo-Metohija are bad for the Balkans and Europe at large, still the Republic of Serbia stands fast by its stance that this issue needs to be resolved peacefully through dialogue. The dialogue process with Pristina has been slowed down by Pristina’s violation of the rules of free trade and the provisions of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) viz. its imposition of a 100% tax on goods from Serbia, said Canak.

The Bundestag members wanted to know what would be the best way for the two parliaments to cooperate and network at different levels to help strengthen democracy, the democratic structures and parliamentary work and if the National Assembly as the supreme legislative body actively controls the work of the Government. They also wanted to know about the inclusion of civil society in the National Assembly’s work, media freedom and youth outreach to encourage inclusion in political life.

They were also interested in the cooperation between the Ministry of European Integration and the European Integration Committee, namely are there any projects they cooperate on. The guests also spoke about the rising Chinese investments into infrastructure throughout Europe.

The Committee Chairman said that the National Assembly has a mechanism to control the work of the Government, but there is still room to improve the parliament’s supervisory role.

Speaking of the inclusion of civil society in the Euro-integration process, he mentioned the National Convention on the European Union, the umbrella association gathering about 700 NGOs, the Committee cooperated with on the 20 negotiation position proposals submitted by the Government.

European Integration Committee member Dusica Stojkovic briefed the Bundestag guests on the democratic mechanisms in the National Assembly, saying that according to the research done by CRTA the National Assembly is one of the most transparent institutions. She also spoke about the informal groups at the Assembly such as the Women’s Parliamentary Network, Green Chair and Economic Caucus, NGOs included in the decision-making process.

Committee member Natasa Vuckovic, as representative of the opposition, spoke about the formal parliamentary groups at the National Assembly, saying that the ruling majority obstructs the opposition’s work in a variety of ways, for example, the currently debated 62 items on the National Assembly’s agenda are all debated as one which only leaves five hours for the debate. She also mentioned the proposal to amend the Constitution, which had entered Assembly procedure, concerning a change to the judiciary which she said experts believe would not improve the field. She stressed that the National Assembly has not yet discussed the European integration process, which it had assumed the obligation to do back in 2014.

Finally, the officials agreed to push for more direct contact between the two parliaments to foster closer cooperation between the parliamentarians as well as the support services.

MPs Zvonimir Djokic and Dr Muamer Bacevac also took part in the meeting.



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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)

Full event calendar