Comité van de Regio's gaat met Servië kijken naar rol decentrale overheden (en)

Members of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) and local representatives from Serbia will meet on 26 June in Novi Sad, Serbia, in the framework of the CoR Working Group on Western Balkans to debate the current situation of Serbia's accession negotiation talks and the impact on local and regional authorities. The positioning of Serbian local authorities in the EU context, in particular as regards decentralisation, and the role of cities and regions in promoting human rights and the protection of minorities, will also be among the highlights of the discussions.

Serbia was granted candidate country status on 1 March 2012. Last April the European Commission recommended opening EU accession negotiations with Serbia, after Belgrade had clinched a deal with Kosovo, allowing for a normalisation of ties. The European Parliament has backed the Commission's position in a resolution stating that "the start of EU accession negotiations in June 2013 is an achievable objective". As Serbia's road to accession is moving up a gear, the CoR intends to further strengthen cooperation with Serbia's local authorities.

In view the meeting, Mia De Vits, Member of the Flemish Parliament and chair of the Working Group, has emphasised: "The Vojvodina province and Serbia are typical examples of the diversity that makes Europe so unique. There are many different ways for the countries of the EU and outside to organize the different levels of government, as well as a wide variety of institutional expressions of diversity. It is up to each country to determine how it is organized and decentralized, but we also need structures to work together. That is why the CoR has set up the Working Group on Western Balkans: to exchange experiences and learn from each other."

Following a welcome statement by the Mayor of Novi Sad, Miloš Vučević, the current status of Serbia's accession process to the EU will be debated on the basis of a presentation by Luc Van den Brande (BE/EPP), Chairman of the Flemish-European Liaison Agency, in his position as CoR rapporteur on the "Enlargement strategy and main challenges 2012-2013", as well as Martin Kern, Head of Operations of the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia.

Members of the Working Group on Western Balkan will also exchange views on the current situation as regards the state of decentralisation in Serbia. Speakers will include Franz Schausberger (AT/EPP), Delegate of the Land of Salzburg to the Committee of the Regions, and CoR rapporteur for the opinion on "Devolution in the European Union and the place for local and regional self-government in EU policy making and delivery", Saša Paunović, President of the Standing Conference of Town and Municipalities of Serbia and Mayor of Paracin, Istvan Pastor (tbc), President of the Assembly of Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, and Ivan Bosnjak, Mayor of Zrenjanin.

The role of the local and regional authorities in the promotion of respect for human rights and the protection of minorities will be the subject of a third debate session, benefitting from the views of Meho Mahmutovic, Mayor of Novi Pazar (tbc), and Suzana Perunicic, Director of the Government Office for Human and Minority Rights (tbc).

The Working Group on relations with Western Balkans meets twice a year. It is composed of 11 CoR members and local and regional representatives from the Western Balkans whose number varies according to the country and the topics discussed.