BRUSSELS – European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos posted on X, after yesterday’s meeting with Speaker of Serbian Parliament Ana Brnabić, that the recent steps taken by Serbia’s authorities to curb the independence of its judiciary are a great concern.
“We expect the implementation of the new judiciary laws to be put on hold until the Venice Commission issues its opinion, and for Serbia’s authorities to respect the opinion and revise the laws accordingly”, Kos wrote.
She added that she had informed the Speaker about our ongoing assessment of whether Serbia still meets the conditions for payments under the EU’s financial instruments.
“I also urged an end to attacks on civil society and journalists”, Kos remarked.
Ana Brnabić had previously told the media in Brussels that it was good that the representatives of the Venice Commission visited Serbia and that, after giving their opinion, they would further discuss with Serbian authorities “possible amendments to the recently adopted set of judicial laws in a wider public debate”.
According to Ana Brnabić, Marta Kos, and she discussed all reforms implemented by the Serbian Parliament and the Government of Serbia. Brnabić said that EU officials conveyed their concerns about the procedure in which a set of judicial laws were adopted, proposed by an MP of the Serbian Progressive Party Uglješa Mrdić.
Speaker of the Assembly pointed out that she agreed that Parliament should have organized a public hearing.
“I am proud of the fact that the ruling majority of the SNS introduced a new standard, the principle of public debate… The Constitutions were changed before, and the Democrats changed them without a single day of public debate, and the citizens did not know what they voted for in the referendum”, Brnabić said.
“We set high standards. I am sorry we did not respect them on this occasion”, she added. According to her, the changes to the judicial laws were based on some of the recommendations made by the Venice Commission in 2021 and 2022.
