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JOINT DECLARATION

The EU-Serbia Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) is one of the bodies set up within the framework of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Union and Serbia. The JCC enables civil society organisations (CSOs) from both sides to monitor Serbia's progress towards the European Union, and to adopt recommendations for the attention of the government of Serbia and the EU institutions. The JCC understands the notion of civil society as encompassing organisations of employers, trade unions and other economic, social and civic interests.

The JCC is made up of 18 members, nine from each side, representing the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and Serbian civil society. During its current term, the JCC is co-chaired by Ana Milićević-Pezelj, member of the EESC and Executive Secretary of the Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Croatia (SSSH), and Boško Savković, Secretary General of the Serbian Association of Employers.

The JCC discussed the current state of play in EU-Serbia relations and the accession process negotiations with the EU, including the revised methodology for the accession process. They tackled the subject of the effects of economic and industrial reforms on the quality of life of citizens. They also held a discussion on the civil society situation in Serbia and the rule of law.

1. State of play of EU-Serbia relations and the accession process, including the revised accession methodology

1.1 The JCC notes that since the last meeting Serbia has opened Chapter 4 on the free movement of capital, which brings the number of chapters open to 18 (of which two have been provisionally closed). The JCC reiterates its call for increased efforts from the Serbian authorities towards meeting the benchmarks set for the opening and closing of the chapters, especially the interim benchmarks in the rule of law chapters (Chapters 23 and 24) and political criteria.

1.2 The JCC calls on the new European Parliament and the new European Commission to continue to be supportive of the EU enlargement policy and to implement coherently the Commission's proposals for strengthening the accession process for the Western Balkans. In that respect, members of the JCC welcome the Communication Enhancing the accession process –A credible EU Perspective for the Western Balkans from 5 February 2020, having as objective a potential optimisation of the accession process.

1.3 The JCC calls on the European Commission to further develop modalities and provide a thorough overview of its revised methodology in order for the candidate countries and future candidates to have a clear and detailed roadmap for their future action. It also welcomes the

European Commission's intention to develop and present an ambitious and effective Economic Development and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans and invites the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the EU to bring new impetus into the enlargement process at the EU-Western Balkans Summit to be held on 7 May 2020.

1.4 The JCC calls on the European Parliament, the European Commission, as well as the Council to better take into account the importance of the civil society in both the current and the revised accession methodology for the Western Balkans, and strengthen its role in monitoring the accession process and keeping authorities accountable for their action, ultimately paving the way for a more democratic environment based on the core European values, especially rule of law. The JCC welcomes the fact that the Commission's Communication Enhancing the accession process – A credible EU perspective for the Western Balkans specifically mentions that potential downward adjustment of EU funding would exclude support to civil society.

1.5 The JCC invites the Serbian authorities to analyse the implications and the opportunities of the Communication very carefully and to define ways in which the new methodology could be most useful and efficient for the Serbian path towards integration, as 'the negotiating frameworks for Serbia and Montenegro will not be amended, but the proposed changes could be accommodated within the existing frameworks with the agreement of these two countries'1.

1.6 The JCC calls upon Serbian authorities and the European Commission to ensure that all relevant information on the accession process, including external evaluation reports and expert analyses, are publicly available in due time, hence enabling the Serbian citizens, journalists, independent experts and human rights defenders to take part in the democratic oversight of the Government-led reform processes.

2. Effects of economic and industrial reforms on the quality of life of citizens

2.1 The JCC calls for key Serbian institutions to be more transparent and efficient in their approach to reforms, more responsive to the needs of the citizens and to improve Serbia's business enabling environment, rendering it more attractive and business friendly.

2.2 The members of the JCC note the encouraging trends in some of the recent economic data showing that Serbia' GDP trends increased by 4%, that its inflation rate declines, that’s the overall industrial production in 2019 has increased by 0.3% or that it attracted 37.3 % more of FDIs.

2.3 However, the members of the JCC regret that the business environment in Serbia is still hampered by a number of challenges, including the costly, unpredictable and non-transparent system of fiscal charges, red tape, difficult access to finance, especially for SMEs, but also unfair competition from state-owned enterprises and corruption.

2.4 The members of the JCC regretfully take note of Serbia's stagnation in the latest Transparency International's 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index, scoring the same 39 points as the previous

1 COM (2020) 57 Communication Enhancing the accession process – A credible EU perspective for the Western Balkans

year and so falling in ranking to the 91st place out of 180 countries. They regret the data reported by the World Bank official reports that Serbia loses 750 mil euros annually due to the corruption ingrained in the public procurement system and call upon the Serbian authorities to take measures to combat corruption, involve civil society actors in their action and hence better the Serbian business environment.

2.5 The JCC recommends turning to an alternative economic policy, fairer, social and environmentally sustainable, with public debates on restructuring and privatization, non-corruptive public procurement and investments, transparent budget, accountable state and rationally organized developed public sector. Regulatory role of the state is essential in setting clear transparent rules, including a robust antimonopoly legislation and depoliticisation of the state administration, especially with regards to the hiring of new staff.

2.6 The JCC regretfully takes notes of the SILC 2018 data reporting a risk-of-poverty rate in Serbia was 24.3%, placing Serbia at the highest risk rate in comparison to the EU Member states. The JCC calls for inequality and poverty reduction, as profit share is still on the capital side, which implies creation of new tax and social policies.

2.7 The JCC calls for the recognition of the principle of decent work, based on contracts, safety, as well as decent and timely pay, as described in for instance the Decent Job Initiative of the International Labor Organization (ILO). The JCC recommends that the Serbian authorities take the necessary measures to ensure decent work conditions for their citizens in a healthy corruption-free business environment and a higher employment protection level (EPL) in order to address the key challenges of the Serbian labor market, the biggest one being the ongoing trend of brain drain and labor emigration. The JCC calls upon the Serbian authorities to make additional efforts in order to ensure gender equality.

2.8 The members of the JCC express their concern as regards unfavorable impacts of economic and business reforms on particularly vulnerable population groups, amongst which persons with disabilities, women, young, national minorities, etc. and call upon national authorities in Serbia to develop protective mechanisms to avoid their exposure to further destitution and falling into poverty. The JCC takes note of a number of positive measures taken in the previous period, but calls upon further efforts to ensure better social protection and alleviate unfavorable impact of reforms as concerns the quality of life of marginalized groups of society in Serbia.

2.9 The members of JCC call upon the Serbian authorities to comply to formal requirements as defined by the Law on the planning systems, to conduct regular public consultations when preparing reforms and legal proposals, a procedure particularly important for businesses and especially SMEs. The JCC regrets that the data published in the Regulatory Index of Serbia for 2017/2018, show that 60% of laws relevant for business did not go through a public hearing in 2017, 90% were made by urgent procedures and half of the draft laws were not available on the relevant ministries’ websites.2

2 USAID/NALED/URP, 2018

2.10 Furthermore, the JCC regrets that Serbia’s legislative reviews under the regulatory reform strategy 2016-2020 do not sufficiently take into account the real on-the-field needs and burdens that SMEs and especially micro enterprises have to endure to survive in the Serbian business environment.

2.11 Furthermore, the JCC regretfully recalls that the Council for SMEs, Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness formed in 2015 has been mostly inactive since the beginning of 2018. However, the JCC supports the activity of Development Agency of Serbia (RAS) and its regional development agencies in providing SMEs with information, training, advisory services and mentoring, and promoting entrepreneurship and considers that such initiatives should be further explored.

2.12 Aware that implementing the ten principles of the Small Business Act (SBA)3 is one of the main requirements of the Chapter 20 of the EU acquis, the JCC regretfully takes note of a worrying situation for small entrepreneurship in Serbia, especially as regards fiscal policy, which has over the past years become more complicated, unpredictable and burdensome for Serbian SMEs. The JCC calls upon the Serbian authorities to adopt the 'Think small first' principle when elaborating or renewing its fiscal policy, both as concerns indirect or direct taxation, as well as administrative burdens and tax compliance costs on Serbian businesses. In that respect, the JCC also recalls that micro enterprises account for 96.2% of all enterprises in Serbia, and yet they are the most vulnerable to the consequences of such a burdensome business environment.

2.13 The JCC supports the agreement with the International Finance Corporation to implement a Business Environment Improvement Project until 2021, but calls upon the Serbian authorities to organize all-encompassing public consultations and involve the civil society, including social partners, in the related elaboration and implementation. Only then can its objectives be correctly and adequately achieved, including the reduction of administrative procedures through the analysis of 1750 administrative procedures related to doing business and providing suggestions for their simplification, optimization or abolition.

2.14 The JCC agrees with the Commission's SBA report 2019 that Serbia needs to start systematically evaluating its interventions under its SME Development Strategy, including assessments of the impacts of various policies to see whether SMEs are disproportionately affected or disadvantaged compared to larger companies.

2.15 The JCC urges the European Commission and the Serbian authorities to use the maximum potential of the EU Programmes to which Serbia is associated, including COSME or Horizon 2020, with the objective to help SMEs prosper and contribute to the country's competitiveness.

2.16 The members of the JCC encourage the regional cooperation as a source of business opportunities and commend the establishment of the regional platform of cooperation of the Chambers of Commerce, as well as the Chamber Investment Forum under the Berlin process.

3 The Small business act (SBA) is an overarching framework for the EU policy on SMEs, aiming to improve the approach to entrepreneurship in Europe, simplify the regulatory and policy environment for SMEs, and remove the remaining barriers to their development.

2.17 The JCC points out to the need for Serbia to align its energy policy with the EU acquis, as well as important European policies such as the Green Deal4, aiming to improve the quality of life of citizens. In that respect, the JCC calls on the European Commission and the European Parliament, as well as the Serbian authorities to take into account the specific Serbian context, identify its specific challenges and opportunities, and subsequently assure adequate support, including financing, for the greening of the Serbian economy.

2.18 The JCC encourages the Serbian authorities, in line with the recommendations from the Serbian Ombudsman, to take urgent measures to tackle the problem of excessive air pollution which has been affecting a large number of Serbian cities and municipalities, but also water and soil pollution, and reflect on long-term measures to be undertaken to better citizens' lives by resolving major pollution causes, including excessive use of house furnaces and fossil fuels for heating, the large number of outdated motor vehicles, burning low-quality lignite, inefficient energy consumption, inefficient technologies for burning fossil fuels, inadequate maintenance of industrial facilities, exaggerated use of pesticides, inefficient waste management, etc.

2.19 The JCC strongly condemns interrogations and pressure on citizens who are manifesting and petitioning against the installations of small hydroelectric power plants going directly against their citizens' rights and freedoms, and calls upon the Serbian authorities not only to allow, but even to encourage free expression of opinion in all concerned regions, in order to find acceptable greener solutions for a better quality of life of all citizens.

2.20 The members of the JCC recommend that the European institutions and the Serbian authorities enhance their focus on better connectivity of the region, having in mind the possibilities of a multidimensional green connectivity in all of its dimensions, including transport, energy, digital, economic and human connectivity.

2.21 The JCC once again highlights the role of the social partners in digital transformation and it calls on the Serbian authorities to include them in a more effective way, including through collective agreements, in the policy-making process. The JCC stresses that social dialogue will be of crucial importance in the efforts to alleviate the effects of the digital revolution on the future of work and labour relations. The JCC calls once again on Serbian authorities to gradually adapt their labour and social legislation, in close cooperation with the social partners, to the digitalised society.

2.22 The JCC encourages the Serbian authorities, with a strong support of the EU to explore possibilities of using Serbia's rich natural resources potential, its biodiversity and possible alternative approaches, including circular economy, social economy, waste management and Sustainable Development Goals mainstreaming, to boost overall growth and employment.

3. Overview of the civil society situation in Serbia and the rule of law

3.1 The JCC recalls that the rule of law and freedom of expression are central values on which the EU is founded, at the heart of both the Enlargement Process and the Stabilisation and

4 COM(2019) Annex to the Communication The European Green Deal from 11/12/2019 (Roadmap - Key actions)

Association Process. Progress on the subject is essential and should determine the pace of the overall accession negotiations. The JCC therefore expresses satisfaction that the commissioner responsible for enlargement policy emphasises the importance of the examination of the candidate’s competences to credibly promote the rule of law and fundamental rights and puts a special accent on the Fundamentals cluster in the revised enlargement methodology.

3.2 The members of the JCC call upon the Serbian authorities to fully take into account the recommendations of the European Commission on the revised Action Plan for the Chapter 23, corresponding to the remarks made by the Serbian civil society, including the necessity to specify and harmonize activities in the adoption of legal or strategic framework, so that their effects could be timely evaluated; precise definition of bodies which will implement them; budget evaluations; comments on the deleted activities as their deletion is not proof that they were carried out efficiently, etc. It is of upmost importance to further develop and clarify the principle of the functioning of the mechanism for the inclusion of the civil society.

3.3 The members of the JCC reiterate their strong request for a full respect of the independence of judiciary and other institutions that are responsible for maintaining the rule of law, fighting corruption and respecting fundamental rights. Based on the multiple draft versions of the amendments to the Constitution so far, they express concern that the amendments will not create conditions for an independent judiciary, including the need to transfer budgetary competences to the judiciary. The JCC stresses that constitutional amendments should allow for merit-based judicial recruitments and careers and therefore institution in charge of appointing, promoting, training, organising and disciplining judges should be independent and efficient, composed by members free from political interference including from the legislative and the executive.

3.4 In order for change to be more attainable, the JCC recommends to the EU institutions that the possibility of drafting Priebe reports for all Western Balkans countries, including Serbia, be analysed, providing neutral and objective identification of real challenges of Serbian democratic institutions and independently analysing mechanisms that endanger democracy and lead to capturing of public institutions for political purposes.

3.5 Members of the JCC echoed the EESC’s viewpoint, as emphasised in its opinions and the reports of its Permanent Study group on Fundamental Rights and the Rule of Law, that it is important to establish a new annual reporting mechanism on the rule of law and fundamental rights that would bind all EU member states, and that the protection of the rule of law and fundamental rights should be adequately financed in the new EU budget. The JCC stressed that only through its consistent internal actions which address challenges within the EU and its member states, the EU can act as a credible and staunch promotor of the rule of law in Serbia’s EU accession negotiations.

3.6 The JCC recalls that the worrisome situation in the Serbian context resulted in the following; the last two Serbia reports by the European Commission note the lack of progress in freedom

of expression as a matter of “serious concern”; Freedom House demoted Serbia from a ‘free’ to a ‘partly free’ country, citing the conduct of

elections, media repression, and the president’s accumulation of executive powers;

CIVICUS Monitor downgraded Serbia’s civic space from the category of countries where basic freedoms and civic space are narrowed (64.39 rating) to the category of countries where basic freedoms are obstructed (60.39 rating);

Serbia dropped 36 ranks in the Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index list since 2014.

3.7 The JCC calls upon the European as well as the Serbian authorities to take into account and react accordingly to the recently published Human Rights Watch report5 stating that little improvement was made in human rights protection in Serbia in 2019, that war crimes prosecutions in domestic courts lacked political will, that asylum system in Serbia remains flawed, that Serbian journalists continued to face attacks and threats, that media plurality was compromised by the media aligned with the ruling party and that Serbia's treatment of persons with disabilities was an issue of concern.

3.8 The JCC welcomes the adoption of the new Strategy for the Development of the Public Information System in Serbia (Media Strategy), as it results from an inclusive effort from different stakeholders, including the government, professional associations and CSOs. The JCC calls upon the Serbian authorities to ensure its adequate implementation by involving all parties concerned, including the civil society, in order for it to be a real step towards a healthier media environment.

3.9 The members of the JCC call upon a real and full implementation of the new Media strategy, crucial for its success and sustainability, including the necessary reform of the Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (REM). This could be a first step to pave the way towards impartial information by strengthening the fragile and minimalist media pluralism and tackle hate speech and discriminatory terminology. The JCC calls upon the Serbian authorities not to repeat the mistakes on the implementation of the previous 2011 Media strategy, many aspects of which were subsequently ignored (for example, the requirement to end state control of the media).

3.10 The JCC expresses its disappointment that despite the adoption of the new Media Strategy, concerns linger about the situation in regards to media freedom, still very much indicating signs of captured state and captured media. There seems to be no real progress in the repression of independent media yet, as can be demonstrated in the recent examples of the media outlet N1 faced with a number of difficulties.

3.11 The JCC regrets the fact that the situation could influence and lead to a boycott of the upcoming elections, jeopardising their legitimacy. It expresses regret that the inter-party dialogue, mediated by European Parliament representatives in December 2019, did not result in a real mutual understanding as regards the improvement of election conditions in Serbia, enabling actual party pluralism needed for holding fair democratic elections.

3.12 The JCC also expresses its regret that the Serbian authorities have opted for a change of the threshold in the electoral system three months before the elections, without a public consultation on the subject and going against the Council of Europe's Venice Commission's Code of Good

5 https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/serbia/kosovo

Practice stating that no major changes should be made to the election rules in the year in which the elections are held. Furthermore, the JCC also calls for a strong international observation mission, including representatives of organised civil society, to monitor the upcoming elections.

3.13 Members of the JCC are worried about the trend of abuse of public office by representatives of the executive during the electoral campaigns in Serbia and the lack of reaction from the relevant state institutions. It calls for the urgent implementation of recommendations of the ODIHR, the European Commission and national CSOs, including the reform of the Rules of Procedure, on improving the legal framework for conducting elections and electoral campaigns.

3.14 The members of the JCC call for the Serbian government to properly implement the Law on the prevention of corruption in a way not to decrease the existing level of protection, including adequate reactions to politicised nominations of public officials or unjustified campaign financing. The JCC stresses that the role of the Anti-Corruption Agency, as a key institution for a more effective fight against corruption, needs to be strengthened not just on paper, rendering it completely independent as regards the nominations of its direction members and bestowed with a more robust mandate when it comes to identifying and preventing corruption. It invites Serbian authorities to cooperate with and respond to the Agency's reports and instructions as provided for under the law and regret the Agency's short deadlines to intervene in potential election abuses.

3.15 Regarding the draft proposed amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance the JCC requests the Serbian government to enable free access to information for citizens, without unnecessary restrictions (in terms of labelling information as classified or restricting its access when it comes to state-owned enterprises, the Treasury and the National Bank of Serbia).

3.16 The members of the JCC reiterate their demand to the Serbian authorities to keep in mind the importance of the role of the Serbian Ombudsman and implement his recommendations, while further including the representatives of the local civil society.

4. Enabling civic space and the state of the civic and social dialogue in Serbia

4.1 The JCC stresses again that one of the most important obligations of a candidate country concerns an enabling environment for CSOs to participate in the necessary reforms, not only in processes related to negotiations but also in all decision-making processes at all levels of government.

4.2 And yet, the JCC recalls that, even though by 2020 Serbia should have had its second National Strategy for an Enabling Environment for Civil Society Development in the Republic of Serbia adopted and implemented, not even the first draft for the period 2015-2019 was ever passed for adoption. The members of the JCC reiterate their recommendations regarding a pending need to adopt a national strategy for an enabling environment for CSOs and an accompanying action plan, improvement with regards to freedom of association and freedom of assembly, volunteering, charity development and public funding for CSOs.

4.3 The JCC shares the European Commission's assessment in Serbia 2019 Report that no progress was made towards establishing an enabling environment for the development and financing of civil society and that further efforts are needed to ensure systematic cooperation between the government and civil society. The JCC considers that the continued frequent use of the urgent procedure for adoption of laws limits effective inclusion of civil society and can even be counterproductive and undemocratic if used as 'window dressing'6 in a top-down approach often practiced by the authorities. The JCC calls for longer periods for public consultations, and their better consideration and follow-up of comments on draft laws. Moreover, the JCC calls upon further action on reducing the usage of urgent procedure and invites once more the Serbian government to clarify its clear conditions. After adoption, the implementation has to be suitably monitored and evaluated, with a strong participation of the civil society.

4.4 The JCC calls upon the Serbian authorities to ensure the full implementation of the citizens’ right to peaceful assembly, an objective review of the demands put forward, as well as urgent measures to ensure the international standards of protection of media freedom and the right to freedom of information.

4.5 The JCC supports the activity of the Three Freedoms Platform gathering 20 CSOs in order to protect civic space in Serbia and freedom of association, assembly and information, and condemns the reported incidents related to the N1 network, to the recent reactions of the president of the Serbian Radical Party and to other attempts to stifle media freedom and freedom of association. The JCC regretfully takes note of the data from the Civicus Monitor list stating that from March until December 2019, there were more than 130 reported cases of violations of freedom of association, assembly and expression. The JCC urges the Serbian authorities to react accordingly, in line with the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Serbia, to protect endangered freedoms and create conditions for unhindered participation of citizens in public affairs through civil society development.

4.6 The JCC reiterates its concern regarding the Personal Data Protection Act since it does not provide guidance for its implementation, introduces a number of unjustified exceptions regarding the privacy of data collected by security institutions and ignores acute problems, such as video surveillance and processing of biometric data. The JCC once more condemns irresponsible handling of personal data by public authorities and unauthorised leaking of sensitive personal data of citizens, CSOs, media and trade union activists who highlight problems in governance.

4.7 Members of the JCC reiterate the need for an early inclusion of social partners in drafting of laws with line ministries, enabling a better quality discussion within the Social and Economic Council (SEC). They stress that the recommendations and opinions of SEC should also include the opinions which are not in agreement with the majority position in order to allow for the members who voted against or abstained to express their views to the relevant decision-makers. The JCC asks for law proposals debated by SEC to be accompanied by recommendations and opinions of SEC when submitted to the Parliament.

6 Window dressing is a term used to describe practices used by political authorities of formally endorsing policies and legislation without real intent, followed by lacks in implementation or disregard (ex. European Foreign Affairs Review 16: Democratic conditionality in the Eastern enlargement: ambitious window dressing)

4.8 The members of the JCC reiterate the need for Serbian authorities to conduct genuine, and not only formal, tripartite social dialogue within the SEC, to consult the National Convention on the EU and other relevant civil society platforms in a more comprehensive and systematic way at all stages and in all relevant chapters of the EU accession negotiations.

4.9 The JCC instructs its co-chairs to forward this joint declaration to the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Council, the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee (SAPC), the European External Action Service (EEAS), the European Commission and the government of Serbia.

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The next JCC meeting is to be held in Belgrade in the second semester of 2020.

Brussels, 30 March 2020

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