EU-Serbia Committee Invites Osce to Join Government-Opposition Talks in Serbia

European Parliament (Photo: European Union 2019/EP/Gabor Kovacs)

Representatives of Serbian civil society and the European Union (EU) passed a joint declaration at a meeting of the EU-Serbia Joint Consultative Committee urging the authorities in Serbia to meet the recommendations issued by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODHIR), and the Union’s institutions to define concrete measures if the recommendations are not implemented properly.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was invited to discuss assuming the role of a mediator in the dialogue between the Serbian government and opposition parties regarding their implementation. The 17th meeting of the Joint Consultative Committee was held in Brussels, on April 5.

The joint declaration, adopted unanimously, voices deep concerns over the OSCE's report which cites election irregularities and the shortcomings of the election process and urges the Serbian authorities to carefully explore and implement all of the recommendations in the OSCE/ODHIR final report.

These recommendations include initiatives for legislative changes much before any elections, addressing concerns over voter rolls, solidifying public trust in elections, preventing pressures on voters and making a clear distinction between government offices and campaigns. The authorities in Serbia are also urged to address allegations of organized “voter migration,” voter buying and the dominant role of the Serbian president in the campaign.

In the text, which BETA examined, EU institutions are invited to define specific measures if clear election irregularities are noted in the next polls, and if the ODHIR recommendations are not been implemented properly. The OSCE is therefore encouraged to discuss mediating in the dialogue between the government and the opposition with regard to the ODHIR recommendations.