Rapporteur Maria Guzenina wanted to know whether the conditions in Serbia meet the values set for national minorities in the European Union.

Enis Imamovic, representative of SDA Sandzak, was the first to answer the question stressing that the representatives of all the national minorities truly support Serbia’s integration into the European Union because they see it as a better guarantee that their minority rights will be respected. He informed the co-rapporteurs about the drafting of the Action Plan for the exercise of national minority rights and the fact that the Bosniak minority has withdrawn from participating in it.

Elvira Kovacs, representative of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians, said that she believes the co-rapporteurs’ report will be objective and balanced, also saying that the Action Plan for Chapter 23 contains a special Action Plan for the exercise of national minority rights.

“The Action Plan clearly specifies what needs to be done and now we all have to pull together to monitor the implementation of the assumed obligations”, stressed Kovacs.

She highlighted the establishment of national minority councils as a best practice example. She stressed that the status of national minorities in AP Vojvodina is satisfactory, and the next step toward its improvement is working to ensure equal employment of national minority representatives in public administration.

The meeting was also attended by Bajro Gegic, representative of SDA Sandzak, who said that, in his opinion, the deficiency of the Action Plan lies in the weak mechanism for its implementation, while Fatmir Hasani, on the behalf of the Party of Democratic Action, outlined the problems the representatives of the Albanian national minority have with the nostrification of degrees earned in Pristina, high unemployment and insufficient economic development of Bujanovac and Presevo, but at the same time stressed that he believes these problems will be overcome with Serbia’s joining the European Union.