"The National Assembly had in the previous period successfully cooperated with the Venice Commission, when a great deal of work was done on the Constitutional amendment in the area of the judiciary, which secured higher and better standards than ever before in terms of judiciary independence", Dr Orlic opined.

He also pointed out that during April’s presidential and parliamentary elections, the election conditions were better than ever before, as supported by the fact that the representatives of all the election lists voted for the announcement of the final election results. It was a unanimous decision and it happened for the first time this year.

He said that the standards of parliamentary practice have also been raised in terms of relationship between the parliamentary groups, with significantly more room for everyone to address their voters, all of the opposition’s proposals regarding leading positions have been accepted, up to an unprecedented number of leadership positions in National Assembly committees going to representatives of the opposition.

The Head of the Council of Europe Belgrade Office Tobias Flessenkemper expressed satisfaction with the successfully implemented change to the Constitution in the area of the judiciary, stressing that the clear will of the citizens was also confirmed in the referendum. He went on to say that additional work is expected to further improve the standards of judicial independence and judicial office through new laws.

Dr Orlic said that the new, 13th legislature of the National Assembly, now has the serious task of adopting laws that regulate the area affected by the Constitutional change, in more detail. He pointed out that, as with the adoption of constitutional amendments, the procedure will be transparent.

Speaking about the current situation, Dr Vladimir Orlic pointed out that the situation in Kosovo-Metohija is an issue of the highest importance for our country and that the rights of Serbs are being brutally trampled on a daily basis. He said that the official Belgrade, represented by the President of the Republic Aleksandar Vucic, always insists on an approach that means peace for all and abiding by the agreed solutions, while the provisional institutions in Pristina not only ignore the commitments made and on a daily basis make unilateral moves that both threaten the physical security of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija and brutally violate their rights, they are already openly sending messages that they consider all agreements that not favoured by Albin Kurti to be null and void.

"In that sense, the question of so-called "Kosovo’s" request for membership in the Council of Europe is not only unacceptable for our country, but also from the point of view of the very rules and values on which the work of this organisation is based. Democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law - these are examples of what is brutally denied to Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija", said Dr Orlic adding that so-called "Kosovo’s" Council of Europe aspirations are harmful, counterproductive and contrary to the fundamental principles of the organisation itself. The Council of Europe needs to, at the very least, keep its neutral position, said the National Assembly Speaker pointing out that the request for membership in the Council of Europe is a violation of the organisation’s Statute, specifically Article 1, because it undermines the unity of the organisation whose 12 member states do not recognise so-called "Kosovo" as an independent state, as well as Article 4, according to which membership in the Council of Europe is open only to states, which is not the case here.

"It is very important to keep in mind that Pristina is trying to politically abuse the Council of Europe, regardless whether it is the organisation's committees or the recent decision to allow them the opportunity to address the session, which is all in direct contradiction with both the rules and the fundamental principles and values of the Council of Europe", said Dr Orlic.