Committee on European Integration of the Parliament of Montenegro and European Integration Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia held a bilateral meeting today, on the topic of dynamics of the negotiation process and use of IPA funds with the aim of implementing reforms on the path towards the EU.

In the first part of the meeting, chairpersons of the two committees presented experiences of the Montenegrin and Serbian parliaments in the process of consideration of the negotiation chapters, as well as various practices regarding the verification of the compliance of the laws with the EU legislation. During the discussion, they spoke on the need of strengthening the oversight role of the committees, bearing in mind that reforms implemented by candidate countries during the negotiation process had influence on all aspects of citizens’ life. The participants agreed on the need of further strengthening of the cooperation of the two committees through meetings and conferences, but also through actual projects.

The meeting was an opportunity for encounter with Mr Edin Koljenović, Programme Director of the NGO “Civic Alliance”, who spoke on the role of the civic sector in the negotiation process. The participants agreed on the importance of deepening the mutual cooperation but also on the need for clearer defining of the role of national parliaments and nongovernmental organisations in the negotiation process.

The second part of the meeting was devoted to the discussion on activities of committees on European integration in the use of IPA funds. Mr Emil Atanasovski, a representative of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, presented innovations in new financial perspective i.e. IPA II, as well as Macedonian experiences in using the funds via decentralised management. He said that the essential difference between the previous and current programme implied flexibility provided by IPA II, mirrored in the possibility of providing additional funds to the countries which used the help of pre-accession funds adequately.

The delegation also met representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, who presented the work of the negotiation structure and the role of the Ministry and Chief Negotiator, who coordinates the whole process.

This activity is supported through the project “Strengthening of the oversight role and publicity of the work of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia”, implemented by the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and UNDP, with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation as well as through the Western Balkans Programme of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, through the support to the Network of Parliamentary Committees for Economy and Finance of the Western Balkan countries.

Delegation of the Parliament of Montenegro comprised of: Chairperson of the Committee on European Integration Mr Slaven Radunović and members of the Committee Ms Marija Maja Ćatović, Ms Azra Jasavić, Mr Obrad Mišo Stanišić, Mr Koča Pavlović and Mr Šefkija Murić.

Delegation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia comprised of: Chairperson of the European Integration Committee Mr Aleksandar Senić and members of the Committee: Ms Gordana Čomić, Ms Dušica Stojković and Mr Ivan Bauer.