New European Commission will dedicate itself to enlargement process and new Commissioner Hahn, if approved by the European Parliament, will place this issue at the very heart of his portfolio, said Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport participating on the second day of Belgrade Security Forum.
The European Commission has for the first time given awards for Roma integration to civil society organisations from Western Balkans and Turkey. The awards honour the contribution and the valuable work of civil society in supporting social inclusion of Roma people. The seven winning organisations, announced during a ceremony in Brussels, have all shown comprehensive and innovative approaches.
Programmes and projects’ promotions under the EU-funded EU Exchange 4 programme mark the International Day of Older Persons in Serbia.
Ninth Belgrade Design Week, sponsored by EU Delegation to Serbia, takes place from 6-11 October in the old factory Staklopan in Dorcol, and, as was the case in the years before, comprises several programmes.
Head of the EU Delegation in Belgrade Michael Davenport responded to a challenge by Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Zorana Mihajlovic and donated blood at the Blood Transfusion Institute, challenging three top Serbian officials in charge with European integrations to join.
Serbia has made a strategic choice in the beginning of membership negotiations with the EU and made concrete steps towards it, so such commitment will be recognised on 8 October within the annual Progress Report, Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport told the Belgrade Security Forum. Also on 8 October, under its new Enlargement Strategy, European Union will reaffirm its commitment of granting membership status to the countries from this region, said Davenport.
Serbia is just at the beginning of the road in addressing economic and health issues related to tobacco use and needs to allign tobacco legislation with the EU. According to the results of the Twinning Light Project “Improving Tobacco Control in the Republic of Serbia,” the big death toll and economic costs of tobacco use in Serbia are not fully understood, said Oskar Benedikt, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia.
The European Union urged Russia to respect international obligations and immediately release crew of a Lithuanian vessel that it forcefully transported to Russian territory from the international waters.
The Committee on Foreign Affairs conducts hearing with Johannes Hahn, commissioner-designate for Neighbourhood policy and enlargement negotiations on 30 September from 13:30 to 16:30.
The EU Council decided to mandate the European Union rule of law mission in Kosovo (EULEX Kosovo) to support the relocated judicial proceedings arising from the investigation by the European Union Special Investigative Task Force (SITF) into the allegations contained in the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly report of January 2011.
