Civil society’s engagement in the EU accession process is of major importance and the EU calls upon the Government of Serbia to establish a durable communication with non-governmental organisations (NGOs), said Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport at the very first plenary session of the National Convent on EU.
Despite the challenges, election campaign and floods, the accession talks have so far been going according to the plan, Davenport said, adding that all of his colleagues from Brussels “are impressed” by the level of expertise and Serbian teams’ commitment.
The entire process needs to be developed under the supervision of civil sector, Davenport said. According to him, the EU’s first recommendation was to keep each of the accession negotiation stages transparent.
National Convent on EU gathers more than 200 NGOs from across Serbia that have established 21 working groups so as to monitor the course of EU accession talks and the implementation of reform agenda regarding each of the 35 Chapters.
Newly established Convent and NGOs’ work groups will provide recommendations for Serbia’s negotiating position and expertise for national authorities and other bodies engaged in the accession talks, whereas for the public, they will provide insight into Serbia’s current EU membership phase.
