The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Serbia, in the presence of the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic, organized a reception on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the admission of the Republic of Serbia to the Council of Europe, in the Palace of Europe, on 18 October 2018.

While addressing to the numerous guests, Minister Dacic explained that Serbia’s membership to the Council of Europe brought about significant changes in the country and that the citizens of Serbia had benefited the most from that and, above all, through their access to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). In this way, Serbian citizens were provided a better protection of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, while the rulings made by the ECHR had a bearing on the changes made to the legislation, judicial practice and the activities of relevant authorities. The progress in this respect is reflected in the fact that Serbia is no longer among the countries with the highest number of complaints before the Court.

Bearing in mind the progress made by Serbia with regard to the implementation of European standards, he expressed the expectations that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) would finally decide to close the regular monitoring procedure.

While affirming the strong commitment of Serbia to membership to the European Union, Minister Dacic said that Serbia would continue to implement reforms related to the human rights field, democracy and the rule of law. He thanked as well the Council of Europe for its valuable contribution and assistance in this regard.

Speaking about the institutional crisis within the Council of Europe meaning the lack of trust between two statutory organs - the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly, he supported the efforts of the Secretary-General to find a solution for the current crisis and expressed the Serbia`s readiness to responsibly take part into that process, together with other Member States. A prerequisite for that is respect of the Statute. Finally, he added that respect of the opinion of the Legal Service ensures legal certainty, which is at the heart of the rule of law.