BETA


2019/2175(INI) Report on the 2019-2020 Commission Reports on Serbia
Next event: Commission response to text adopted in plenary 2021/09/01 more...

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead AFET BILČÍK Vladimír (icon: EPP EPP) PAPADAKIS Demetris (icon: S&D S&D), GROŠELJ Klemen (icon: Renew Renew), VON CRAMON-TAUBADEL Viola (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), ZANNI Marco (icon: ID ID), KRASNODĘBSKI Zdzisław (icon: ECR ECR), MAUREL Emmanuel (icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL)
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 54

Events

2021/09/01
   EC - Commission response to text adopted in plenary
Documents
2021/03/25
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2021/03/25
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2021/03/25
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament adopted a resolution by 538 votes to 69, with 79 abstentions, on the 2019-2020 Commission reports on Serbia.

Parliament welcomed the fact that EU membership remains a strategic goal for Serbia and that it is among the priorities of the newly formed government. However, it expects Serbia to make a clear and unambiguous commitment to fulfil all its obligations for EU membership in a visible and verifiable manner.

The Council has decided not to open any further chapters with Serbia for the time being. A sustainable track record has yet to be achieved in areas such as the judiciary, fundamental rights (Chapter 23), and justice, freedom and security (Chapter 24).

Re-launching the negotiation process

Members underlined the importance of giving more impetus to the accession negotiations with Serbia and of swiftly implementing the revised method for enlargement. They called on Serbia to strengthen the implementation of its legislation and its harmonisation with the acquis, noting that normalisation of relations with Kosovo and genuine respect for fundamental rights remain essential and will determine the pace of accession negotiations.

Democracy, rule of law, fundamental rights

Parliament noted that, due to the boycott of the elections by some opposition parties, the newly formed Serbian Parliament was marked by the overwhelming majority of the ruling coalition and the absence of a viable opposition, a situation which is not conducive to political pluralism in the country. It called on the opposition to return to the negotiating table and to resume political and parliamentary activities.

The resolution called on the new government to work on effective and verifiable structural reforms and to address shortcomings in the areas of the rule of law, fundamental rights, freedom of the press, the fight against corruption and the functioning of democratic institutions and public administration. It called on Serbia to achieve convincing results in areas of concern such as the judiciary, freedom of expression and the fight against organised crime.

Noting with concern the continued political influence on the judiciary, Parliament noted the need to strengthen the guarantees of accountability, professionalism and independence of the judiciary, including, where necessary, by reviewing current recruitment and human resources management procedures. It called on the newly elected parliament to step up its efforts to ensure transparency, inclusiveness and quality of the legislative process, as well as effective parliamentary oversight.

Members called on Serbia to increase its efforts to promote gender equality and women's rights, with particular attention to gender mainstreaming. They called for more efforts to combat violence against women and children and domestic violence and stressed the need to improve access to health services for people with disabilities and to continue to protect the rights of LGBTI people.

Economy and the environment

Parliament welcomed Serbia's progress in developing a functioning market economy and called on the country to continue its efforts to boost competitiveness and sustainable and inclusive growth through structural reforms, in particular in the energy sector and the labour market, as well as by improving transparency and predictability in the regulatory environment. Further progress is needed in the area of public procurement.

The resolution called on Serbia to increase the sustainability of its energy sector by diversifying its energy sources, launching a low-carbon energy transition and moving towards renewable and cleaner energy while removing non-compliant coal subsidies. Members expressed concern about the high levels of air pollution in Serbia and urged the authorities to take swift action to improve air quality, especially in large cities and industrial areas.

Serbia is urged to align itself with EU standards and policy objectives on climate protection and environment as well as energy efficiency.

Regional cooperation

Members welcomed Belgrade's active and constructive participation in the dialogue with Pristina and the good regional cooperation between Serbia and Kosovo in the fight against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The resolution encouraged Serbia to sustain its efforts at all levels aimed at reconciliation and strengthening good neighbourly relations. It called on Serbia to fully implement bilateral agreements and to engage in the resolution of all remaining border disputes with neighbouring countries in a constructive manner.

Members also recalled the obligation to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.

Lastly, Parliament stressed the importance of alignment with the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), which should progressively become an integral part of Serbia’s foreign policy as a condition for the accession process.

Documents
2021/03/25
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2021/03/10
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
Documents
2021/03/10
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Documents
2021/02/23
   EP - Vote in committee
2020/12/15
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2020/11/19
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2019/12/19
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2019/09/30
   EP - BILČÍK Vladimír (EPP) appointed as rapporteur in AFET

Documents

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

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2021-09-01T00:00:00
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  • The Committee on Foreign Affairs adopted an own-initiative report by Vladimír BILČÍK (EPP, SK) on the 2019-2020 Commission reports on Serbia.
  • Members welcomed the fact that EU membership continues to be Serbia's strategic goal and that it is among the priorities of the new government. They noted that all parliamentary parties support Serbia's EU integration process and encouraged the Serbian authorities to communicate more actively and unambiguously their commitment to European values in the public debate. They expected a clear commitment from Serbia, both in words and deeds, to fulfil its obligations towards EU membership in a visible and verifiable way.
  • Re-launching the negotiation process
  • The report stressed the importance of injecting more dynamism into the accession negotiations with Serbia but not opening any further negotiating chapters until Serbia has made the necessary reform commitments.
  • Members called on Serbia to continue to strengthen the alignment and implementation of its legislation with the EU acquis. They regretted that the pace of alignment has been significantly slower than the government had originally planned, pointing to limited progress on Chapters 23 (judiciary and fundamental rights) and 24 (justice, freedom and security). They considered that normalisation of relations with Kosovo and genuine respect for fundamental rights will be essential and will determine the pace of the accession negotiations.
  • Democracy, rule of law, fundamental rights
  • The report called on the new government to work on effective and verifiable structural reforms and to address shortcomings in the areas of rule of law, fundamental rights, freedom of the press, the fight against corruption and the functioning of democratic institutions and public administration. It called on Serbia to improve its fight against organised crime and to switch from an approach based on individual cases to a strategy aimed at dismantling large and internationally spread organisations.
  • Members noted with concern the continuing political influence on the judiciary and the need to strengthen the guarantees of accountability, professionalism, independence and overall efficiency of the judiciary, including, where necessary, by revising the current system of recruitment and human resources management. The quality of the legislative process should be further improved by increasing transparency and social and political dialogue.
  • Members regretted the deterioration of press freedom and the increase in intimidation and even hate speech against members of the parliamentary opposition, independent intellectuals, NGOs, journalists and prominent personalities, including by members of the ruling parties.
  • The report called on Serbia to increase its efforts towards gender equality and women's rights with particular attention to gender mainstreaming. It called for more efforts to combat violence against women and children and domestic violence and stressed the need to continue to protect LGBTI rights.
  • Economy and the environment
  • Members welcomed Serbia's progress in developing a functioning market economy. They called on Serbia to continue its efforts to boost competitiveness and sustainable and inclusive growth through structural reforms, in particular in the energy sector and the labour market, as well as by improving transparency and predictability in the regulatory environment.
  • Members also welcomed the progress made by Serbia in economic and financial areas such as company law, intellectual property law, competition and financial services, as well as managerial accountability and auditing. However, further progress is needed in the area of public procurement.
  • The report called on Serbia to increase the sustainability of its energy sector by diversifying its energy sources, launching a low-carbon energy transition and moving towards renewable and cleaner energy while removing non-compliant coal subsidies. Members expressed concern about the high levels of air pollution in Serbia and urged the authorities to take swift action to improve air quality.
  • Serbia is urged to align itself with EU standards and policy objectives on climate protection and environment as well as energy efficiency.
  • Regional cooperation
  • Members welcomed Belgrade's active and constructive participation in the dialogue with Pristina and the good regional cooperation between Serbia and Kosovo in the fight against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The report encouraged Serbia to sustain its efforts at all levels aimed at reconciliation and strengthening good neighbourly relations. It called on Serbia to fully implement bilateral agreements and to engage in the resolution of all remaining border disputes with neighbouring countries in a constructive manner.
  • Members also recalled the obligation to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.
  • Lastly, the report stressed the importance of alignment with the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), which should progressively become an integral part of Serbia’s foreign policy as a condition for the accession process.
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