The delegation of the European Integration Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia comprising Committee Chairperson Elvira Kovacs and Committee members Dubravka Filipovski and Dr Ana Jakovljevic, took part in the 72nd COSAC Plenary Meeting to be held 27 – 29 October 2024 in Budapest, Hungary, as part of the parliamentary dimension of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The meeting was attended by representatives of European affairs committees of EU member states, parliaments of candidate states, special guests, representatives of EU institutions and the diplomatic corps.

At the opening of the plenary meeting the participants were addressed by the Speaker of the Hungarian Parliament Laszlo Kover.

At session one, “Programme and results of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union”, the participants were addressed by Hungarian Minister of EU Affairs Janos Boka. Elvira Kovacs also addressed the participants of this session. Among other things, she said that Serbia had opened its last cluster almost three years ago and reminded them that, in its last three reports on Serbia, the European Commission had assessed that Serbia is ready to open Cluster 3 - Competitiveness and Inclusive growth. She said that through its Reform Agenda, which is the central part of the EU’s Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, Serbia aims to speed up reform and social and economic rapprochement to the European Union.

The keynote speakers of session two, “The state of the European Union in the year of institutional transition and the 15-year application of the Treaty of Lisbon”, were Maros Sefcovic, Vice-President for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight, European Commission (video message), Barna Pal Zsigmond, State Secretary of the Ministry of European Union Affairs, Sven Simon, Chair of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs of the European Parliament and Alessandro Giglio Vigna, Chairman of the EU Policies

Committee of the Italian Parliament’s Chamber of Deputies. European Integration Committee member Dubravka Filipovski also had an address in the course of the debate. She pointed out that Europe needs peace and that the entire region of the Western Balkans needs a stable and predictable future with clear messages about enlargement. She also noted that the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans represents a strong incentive for the continuation of reforms.

In the introductory part of session three, “European demographic trends and responses at national and European level” the participants were addressed by Zsofia Koncz, State Secretary of the Hungarian Ministry of Culture and Innovation. In the course of the debate, European Integration Committee member Dr Ana Jakovljevic also addressed the participants. She said that Europe is going through deep demographic changes, characterised by population aging, declining birth rates and increased migration. She pointed out that Europe's demographic challenges are also reflected in the Western Balkans, and added that the process of European integration in the region, although challenging, offers a promising framework for addressing these demographic changes by harmonising policies and encouraging economic and social reforms.

The key speakers of session four, "European Security and Defence", were Esteban Gonzalez Pons, Vice-President of the European Parliament and Peter Sztaray, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In the course of the debate, European Integration Committee Chairperson Elvira Kovacs informed the participants that since the migration crisis of 2015, more than 1.5 million refugees and migrants have passed through Serbia. She said that, under the obligations of Negotiation Chapter 31 - Foreign, Security and Defence Policy, Serbia achieves a high degree of cooperation with EU institutions and member states within the framework of the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy. By actively participating, Serbia, as a reliable and loyal partner, contributes to global peace and security. Additional challenges for European security are crisis hotspots in the immediate vicinity, which increase the dangers of terrorism and uncontrolled migration. These circumstances impose the need for further progress in the harmonisation of relations and interests of European states.

On the sidelines of the COSAC Plenary Meeting, the delegation of the European Integration Committee held a bilateral meeting with the Chairman of the EU Policies Committee of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Alessandro Giglio Vigna. The topic of the conversation was the resolution on the policy of enlargement of the European Union to the Western Balkans, which the Italian Chamber of Deputies plans to adopt. Elvira Kovacs thanked Italy for the support it provides to Serbia’s European integration. She briefly presented the current situation in Serbia's accession negotiations. She pointed out that Serbia has not opened a single cluster for almost three years. Committee Chairman Alessandro Vigna, expressed great interest in organising a bilateral meeting between the two committees, in Rome, in the first half of next year. Committee members Dubravka Filipovski and Dr Ana Jakovljevic thanked Italy for its support, highlighting the importance of the closeness and cooperation of our countries and expressing satisfaction with the upcoming bilateral meeting of the delegations of the two committees.

On the sidelines of COSAC, the delegation also met with MPs from Sweden, Germany, Hungary and the region.