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European Union and Council of Europe launch joint Actions in Serbia

"We expect that this programme will encourage reform in Serbia”, said the head of the EU Delegation in Belgrade, Michael Davenport at the launch on 2 March 2017 in Belgrade. He added that the programme would support Serbia’s EU accession process, in particular by addressing issues covered by Chapters 23 and 24, and would “contribute to good co-operation between ministries, civil society organisations, the media and local authorities”. The Director of the Office of the Directorate General of Programmes of the Council of Europe, Verena Taylor, pointed out that the Horizontal Facility relies on the Council of Europe’s unique working methods, whereby tailor-made technical co-operation activities are based on conclusions and recommendations of Council of Europe monitoring bodies, which highlight areas where improvements are needed to comply with the Organisation’s standards. She stressed that the results of the programme would benefit society as a whole.

As part of this programme, seven projects with a total budget of 3.38 million will be implemented in Serbia in the period between January 2017 to May 2018. The projects relate to  enhanced application of case-law of the European Court of Human Rights in Serbia, protection of the rights of detained and sentenced persons, strengthening independence of the judiciary, fighting corruption in higher education, fostering a democratic culture in schools, combating trafficking in human beings and protection the right of national minorities.

On behalf of the national partners of the programme, Mr Radomir Ilic, State Secretary at the Ministry of Justice and Ms Tamara Rastovac Siamashvili, Head of the Department for OSCE and CoE at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs greeted the guests in their welcome speech and emphasised the importance of the Horizontal Facility and benefits that this programme will bring to the relevant national institutions. The Head of the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade Tim Cartwright moderated the event, which was also attended by representatives of state institutions, civil society and international organisations.

Belgrade 6 march 2017
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