Minister of European Integration Tanja Miščević, together with Ministers without portfolio Đorđe Milićević, in charge of relations with the diaspora, and Tatjana Macura, in charge of gender equality, met today in Belgrade with Minister of European Integration and International Cooperation of Republika Srpska Zlatan Klokić.
The meeting addressed significant issues related to the European integration processes of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which entail deep reforms and adaptation to the European Union law and standards.
Minister Miščević and Minister Klokić agreed that technical cooperation between institutions from Serbia and Republika Srpska in that field should contribute to more successful accession negotiations of both Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Minister Miščević expressed readiness to continue training Republika Srpska institutions to best prepare them for participation in the screening, which is the first step in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s negotiation on the European Union membership. She also emphasised that translations of acquis communautaire to Serbian, prepared by the Ministry of European Integration, could be made immediately available to colleagues from Republika Srpska who were taking part in the negotiation process, as Serbia’s contribution to the success of the negotiations.
Minister Klokić stated that Republika Srpska was extensively preparing for the upcoming steps relating to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU accession process. He also stressed that the negotiation process must not be used to violate the constitutional framework.
“The complex structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina still requires the use of coordination mechanisms, which the practice so far has shown to be the only correct path towards agreement and consensus of all the parties, and this will be particularly important in the negotiation process”, said Minister Klokić. He also noted that Republika Srpska was committed to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European path but within the framework defined by the Constitution.
During the meeting, Minister Klokić emphasised that Serbia’s experience would be of great importance for Republika Srpska, in particular, due to the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina was approaching the screening, the next phase in the European integration process. “In that respect, representatives of the Ministry, led by Minister Miščević, have already started to train our officers, and in the upcoming period, we expect a more intense cooperation in this regard and a more frequent exchange of experiences”, said Minister Klokić.
Today, Minister Miščević and Minister Klokić signed the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of Republika Srpska to strengthen the ties between the members of the diaspora and the motherland, a document that will be ceremoniously exchanged tomorrow. Minister Milićević highlighted the successful and intense cooperation that had taken place so far in coordinating relations with compatriots living outside of Serbia. “Our shared goal is to bring our compatriots closer to the motherland, to network with associations of Serbs outside Serbia, and to talk more about the human and financial potentials of our diaspora”, said Minister Milićević.
Minister Macura announced that cooperation with Republika Srpska would also be improved in terms of gender equality, adding that it was an important topic for the society as a whole and a significant part of the negotiations under Cluster 1, which included non-discrimination. Another topic that was generally considered was connecting the Ministry’s activities with the Centre for Gender Equity and Equality of Republika Srpska.
