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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Continuation of government's dialogue with civil society organisations

Belgrade, 21 December 2022

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic pointed out today, at the Plenary Session of the National Convention on the European Union, that the government will continue the dialogue with civil society organisations, and as the basic imperatives in the coming period, she stated the rule of law, the fight against corruption and the media.

In the House of the National Assembly, in an address to representatives of the civil sector, Brnabic expressed objections to the constant narrative of distrust coming from civil society organisations, saying that it is completely clear that the government wants to be their partner.

For a government that has initiated this kind of dialogue on important issues, the government that listens to civil society, it seems to me that this constant narrative creates a fence that is there to further fuel that mistrust. That dialogue will continue and I thank you for that, she said.

The Prime Minister reiterated that the rule of law remains in focus, adding that the plan is to adopt the necessary laws by the end of February, for which the Venice Commission gave a positive opinion.

She reminded that a working group was created for the development of a national strategy for the fight against corruption, the first meeting of which will be held tomorrow, and added that the plan is for this document to be completed by June 2023.

Also, as she noted, the implementation of the Media Strategy is delayed, which is why the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications was formed in order to speed up the adoption of laws.

The Prime Minister stated that it would be desirable to discuss the issue of the new energy policy and environmental protection at the Convention sessions.

When it comes to criticism of the Draft Law on the Interior, she pointed out that the fact that organisations refer to environmental protests when criticising the law shows that the law is in order, because during those protests there was no use of force.

It is obvious that the Interior Ministry does not want to use force in any situation. There were protests that closed the international road, so nothing happened, except that we called a meeting and asked them to move away, she said, reminding that other countries reacted differently in those situations.

Speaking about harmonisation with the Union's foreign policy, the Prime Minister pointed out that Serbia has not received a screening report for Chapter 31, which concerns that very topic, for six years.

Today, some member states of the Union say that we have to align with the EU's foreign policy, and those same states did not even want to adopt the screening report. That is not a partnership attitude and it is not right. And when we open Chapter 31, that harmonisation should be gradual, she said.

She underlined that Serbia is not neutral regarding Russia's aggression against Ukraine, adding that our country has complied with all recommendations, declarations, and resolutions of both the European Union and the United Nations, which condemn that aggression.

Politically, we have fully determined ourselves, we will guard and protect that position. So far, we have managed to gain some understanding through arguments, Brnabic noted, and in that sense expressed her gratitude to Head of the EU Delegation in Serbia, Emanuele Giaufret.