VISIT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S EXPERT MISSION TO THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

25. March 2015.

A one-week visit of the European Commission’s expert mission to the Republic of Serbia, which is dedicated to national minorities, started by a meeting with representatives of governmental bodies on Monday, March 23, 2015.

The meeting was an opportunity for institutions of the Republic of Serbia to present their activities in the sphere of improving the position of national minorities. Ivan Bosnjak, State Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, said that the Republic of Serbia had taken the necessary measures to enable the integration of ethnic minorities, as well as the fostering of their cultural and other special qualities.

The experts thanked the representatives of governmental bodies and underscored that it was important to continue undertaking the activities for implementing the legal framework regarding the rights of national minorities.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Coordination Body of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for the Municipalities of Presevo , Bujanovac and Medvedja, the Office for Human and Minority Rights, the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Directorate for Cooperation with Churches and Religious Communities, the Republican Institute for Statistics, the European Integration Office and the Ombudsman’s Office. The expert team includes professors Rainer Hoffmann and Anastasia Crickley. Apart from them, the meeting was attended by Jonalnda San Jose, a representative of the Delegation of the European Union, as well as by Dita Kudelova and Khloe Lawrence Dinsdale, representatives of the European Commission.

In the course of the week, the expert mission’s teams will visit some of the cities and municipalities where persons belonging to national minorities live and will talk with representatives of national minority councils, local self-governmental bodies, provincial authorities and civil society organizations.

Source: Coordination Body