The co-facilitators of the Inter-Party Dialogue process MEPs Vladimir Bilcik and Tanja Fajon, former MEPs Knut Fleckenstein and Eduard Kukan, and the Speaker of the National Assembly of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, commented on their work so far and on the prospects of future cooperation.
The Dialogue process initiated in 2019 provided an effective platform for exchange and consensus building among different political forces on issues crucial to the future of Serbia‘s democracy. Sixteen concrete measures were agreed in the course of the process, in line with international recommendations, to improve election conditions and the media space. It is regrettable that not all participants of the Dialogue felt they were in a position, for different reasons, to subscribe to these measures.
„It is crucial for all measures to be fully implemented. Any unnecessary delay in implementation endangers the effectiveness of the agreed measures ahead of the upcoming elections“, stressed the European Parliament‘s co-facilitators. „The fact that the non-parliamentary opposition remains critical about implementation of the measures is a matter of concern.“
„Concluding this round of the Inter-Party Dialogue we also want to stress the constructive, open and to-the-point exchanges we had with all interlocutors and the positive attitude towards dialogue and consensus building. However, further reform is needed to consolidate Serbia‘s parliamentary democracy and we stand ready to support these efforts following the elections“, underlined the European Parliament‘s co-facilitators of the Dialogue.
„The Inter-Party Dialogue was an important experience. It has demonstrated that we are able to work across party-lines to achieve progress in the overall interest of Serbia‘s democracy. This has also been a very positive example of cooperation between Serbia‘s National Assembly and the European Parliament which bodes well for the future. The Serbian National Assembly will continue to make all efforts to adopt the necessary legal changes for the implementation of the measures jointly agreed in the Inter-Party Dialogue“, stressed Ivica Dacic, Speaker for the National Assembly of Serbia.
The co-facilitators of the Inter-Party Dialogue agreed that the good cooperation and dialogue facilitation should continue following the elections with the aim to strengthen parliamentary democracy and improve political culture. They also look forward to the international observation mission that will closely look at the conduct and outcome of the upcoming elections, which is also a priority mission for the European Parliament.
