2023-11-14
| Belgrade

Public reading of the European Commission 2023 Report on Serbia

On 14 November 2023, the Center for Democracy Foundation, the Center for Contemporary Politics and the European Western Balkans organised the traditional Public reading of the European Commission 2023 Report on Serbia.

The European Commission Report for Serbia was published on 8 November. CSOs consider it vital to demonstrate to the people of Serbia the importance this report in a comprehensible way. The report presents a snapshot of how EU member states and the European Commission perceive us, where Serbia stands today, what life is like in Serbia, the state of our institutions, the quality of the rule of law, and all other issues within the area of reform policy and the EU’s impact on Serbia.

The following individuals participated in the public reading: Plamena Halacheva, Deputy Head of EU Delegation to Serbia; Bojana Selaković, National Convention on European Union (NCEU); Bojan Elek, Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP); Jovana Spremo, Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM); Dragana Đurica, European Movement in Serbia (EMinS); Nataša Vučković, Center for Democracy Foundation (CDF); Nemanja Todorović Štiplija, Centre for Contemporary Politics (CCP); Andrea Hochhuber, Head of European Integration, Economy and Trade at the EU Delegation to Serbia and others.

The most significant findings of the European Commission were presented at the gathering. Various areas were examined and the reports of other countries of the Western Balkans were compared with the Serbia Report. Organisations that have spent years dedicated to Serbia’s accession to the EU gave their recommendations on how to improve the integration process.

The discussions covered the status of the rule of law, human rights, and how the people of Serbia exercise/do not exercise them, the security sector, the state of democracy, parliament, control over the executive power, media freedom, the right to freedom of expression, and the citizens' right to objective information. There were also discussions on economic progress, civil society, citizen initiatives, how policies are formulated, and whether the people have the right to express their opinions and priorities in the decision-making process.