National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia / Activities / Activity details
Thursday, 19 May 2011
Forty-First Sitting of the European Integrations Committee
Following the public hearing on the challenges of forced migrations in Serbia organised by the European Integrations Committee on 18 May, at its sitting on 19 May the Committee formulated the text of the Proposal of the Conclusion regarding the problem of endangered visa-free regime proposed by Committee member Ivan Andric, on the behalf of the Liberal-Democratic Party Parliamentary Group.
At the sitting the Committee adopted the following
By which it:
1. Calls on the Serbian Government to take all steps it is authorised to take as the carrier of executive power to remedy the problem of endangered visa-free regime, with particular attention to the sensitive balance between the interest to preserve the visa-free regime and decrease the number of asylum seekers and the inviolability of human rights, particularly the right to freedom of movement, prevention of discrimination and the right to seek asylum guaranteed by the internal legal order and international documents. No measure can have a discriminatory character or encourage intolerance toward the groups and minorities to which most of the asylum seekers belong;
2. Appeals to all the state authorities, participants in the political life, institutions and the media to promote in public the value, and not only the material and financial aspect of integration into the European Union, stressing very specifically that visa-free regime does not mean the right to travel to Schengen zone countries with the intent to reside and work there illegally or seek any kind of material or social benefits at the burden of those countries;
3. Supports the initiative and is ready to take active part in the preparation of the necessary proposals to amend and modify laws, particularly the criminal legislation aimed at suppressing the problem of illegal organisation and transport of people into Schengen zone countries, abuse of the difficult position of people susceptible to manipulation who become victims of organised crime, mindful of the obligations stemming from the existing human rights guarantees; it calls on the Government member in charge of European integration to report regularly to the Committee on the implemented measures;
4. Warns that the concern over the status of the visa-free regime and the citizens’ right to travel freely and without visas cannot become grounds for recriminations or stigmatisation of any ethnic, national or other group, nor should this solvable problem give rise to an atmosphere where the parties guilty for the existing problems are sought within these groups;
5. Believes it most important that the state authorities invest additional efforts into an efficient suppression of the widespread poverty in some parts of Serbia, high unemployment rate, low education level and other economic and social causes of travels into Schengen zone countries for the purpose of illegal employment or collecting compensation benefits during the ruling period on the submitted requests for asylum.
At the sitting, the Committee submitted an initiative to amend the Criminal Code - the criminal offense of abuse of official position.
The sitting was chaired by Laszlo Varga, Committee Chairman.
CONCLUSION
By which it:
1. Calls on the Serbian Government to take all steps it is authorised to take as the carrier of executive power to remedy the problem of endangered visa-free regime, with particular attention to the sensitive balance between the interest to preserve the visa-free regime and decrease the number of asylum seekers and the inviolability of human rights, particularly the right to freedom of movement, prevention of discrimination and the right to seek asylum guaranteed by the internal legal order and international documents. No measure can have a discriminatory character or encourage intolerance toward the groups and minorities to which most of the asylum seekers belong;
2. Appeals to all the state authorities, participants in the political life, institutions and the media to promote in public the value, and not only the material and financial aspect of integration into the European Union, stressing very specifically that visa-free regime does not mean the right to travel to Schengen zone countries with the intent to reside and work there illegally or seek any kind of material or social benefits at the burden of those countries;
3. Supports the initiative and is ready to take active part in the preparation of the necessary proposals to amend and modify laws, particularly the criminal legislation aimed at suppressing the problem of illegal organisation and transport of people into Schengen zone countries, abuse of the difficult position of people susceptible to manipulation who become victims of organised crime, mindful of the obligations stemming from the existing human rights guarantees; it calls on the Government member in charge of European integration to report regularly to the Committee on the implemented measures;
4. Warns that the concern over the status of the visa-free regime and the citizens’ right to travel freely and without visas cannot become grounds for recriminations or stigmatisation of any ethnic, national or other group, nor should this solvable problem give rise to an atmosphere where the parties guilty for the existing problems are sought within these groups;
5. Believes it most important that the state authorities invest additional efforts into an efficient suppression of the widespread poverty in some parts of Serbia, high unemployment rate, low education level and other economic and social causes of travels into Schengen zone countries for the purpose of illegal employment or collecting compensation benefits during the ruling period on the submitted requests for asylum.
At the sitting, the Committee submitted an initiative to amend the Criminal Code - the criminal offense of abuse of official position.
The sitting was chaired by Laszlo Varga, Committee Chairman.