Anne Brasseur praises reform process in Serbia since 2003

The FINANCIAL — In a speech to the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia on March 10, PACE President Anne Brasseur praised the Serbian authorities, as well as political stakeholders, for having resolutely embarked on the path of reform since accession to the Council of Europe in 2003.

She particularly welcomed progress in strengthening democratic institutions, reforming the electoral system and the judiciary, tackling corruption and strengthening local self-government, as well as guaranteeing minority rights, according to PACE.

“But let me say a word of caution,” she added. “Serbia has made considerable efforts, but you should not stop half way through the reform process. All political stakeholders across the board must join efforts to achieve a common goal: making Serbia’s democracy stronger, upholding the rule of law, and guaranteeing the protection of human and minority rights to the highest European standards.”

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She particularly stressed the need for further reform of the judiciary, strengthening media pluralism and transparency of media ownership, as well as upholding minority rights.

Welcoming Serbia’s good co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Ms Brasseur urged all countries of the region to strengthen domestic efforts to provide justice, truth and reparation to victims as the final ICTY prosecutions draw to a close. “There can be no impunity for human rights violations, especially when it comes to war crimes and crimes against humanity,” she repeated.

Referring to the Council of Europe’s activities in Kosovo,* the President recalled that they are developed in conformity with UN Security Council Resolution 1244. “Our main goal is to ensure that all European citizens – and I stress ‘all’ without exception – enjoy the standards of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Our co-operation activities in Kosovo* pursue this objective and I welcome the constructive approach of Serbia to this matter which has enabled our Organisation to launch a range of projects in Kosovo.”