Serbian Foundation for Practical Liberal Policy Handed Emerging Europe Award

Serbia, EU flags (BETAPHOTO/European Council/FRANCOIS LENOIR)

The Foundation for Practical Liberal Policy ranked second in the category of the development of democracy and rule of law as part of this year's pan-European Emerging Europe Awards while representatives of the organization said that they found it especially important that someone from Serbia had received the award, as a country in which democracy is undergoing considerable regression.

Foundation managing board chief Danijel Pantic told BETA on Jan. 16 that the award was particularly important because, on one hand, it was a pan-European contest, and the other because his organization was from Serbia, a country "in which democracy has been suspended, i.e. only a shell of it remains" a country "in which elections are called only when the outcome is known in advance without the elementary conditions for the confrontation of competitive political stances (the lack of media freedoms)."

"Democracy in Serbia must be renewed as this is a civilizational achievement in which our country has been showing considerable regression in the past decade compared to the results achieved in the period from 2001-2011," Pantic said adding that the award encouraged the organization to continue its fight for democratic freedoms in Serbia.

The Foundation for Practical Liberal Policy has been a member of the European Liberal Forum under the auspices of the European Parliament since June 2024.