01/10/2025 | 13:01:20 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2.) Serbia’s current political situation is complicated by the protests of one part of the country’s students, firstly protesting because of the alleged absence of the investigation on the collapse of the canopy at the Railway Station Building in Novi Sad, and then requesting early parliamentary elections in which they would participate with their own list with no parliamentary opposition members. To date, it is not clear who would be in this... 30/09/2025 | 18:28:45 Distinguished Chair, Dear colleagues, As a representative of the Hungarian minority political party from Serbia, I would like to underline the very good co-operation between the two countries in different fields, including infrastructure, justice and the European integration process. As we all know, our Assembly has been closely following the situation in Hungary on specific issues, the measures taken, and the progress achieved. Unfortunately, the draft resolution in front of us only... 08/04/2025 | 17:31:11 Distinguished Chair, Dear colleagues, Despite legal proceedings unfolding in line with all reasonable and legal deadlines, the tragic event of 1 November in Novi Sad last year was used as a pretext for action such as physically preventing employees of the courts and prosecutor officers from coming to their workplaces, blocking the Parliament, etc. At the same time, a part of university students shut down the vast majority of the faculties in the country. Lectures and exams were interrupted... 07/04/2025 | 17:15:21 Thank you, distinguished Chair. Dear colleagues, A number of challenges are endangering the capacity to protect the rights of persons belonging to national minorities. The challenge for the authorities is how to build societies in which minorities are not merely tolerated, but respected and perceived as an equal and integral part. In other words, how to achieve the full and effective equality of persons belonging to national minorities. Experience has shown that bringing legislation into line... 27/01/2025 | 17:35:45 Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2 Today’s politics of the current parliamentary majority in the Republic of Serbia and the Government it supports, are centered around the most ambitious goal that has been set: that at the end of 2026, Serbia fulfills all the reforms necessary to become a full member of the European Union. The fact that majority is dedicated to its proclaimed reform task, is shown by the results of which I mention only a few. During 2023, a new set of judicial... 01/10/2024 | 20:37:27 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) The Mediterranean lies between Africa’s dreams and Europe’s fears, it is the cradle of Europe yet it is becoming a mass grave, growing larger each year. In recent years, certain Council of Europe member states, politicising an issue that is of a humanitarian nature, have progressively adopted tougher and more restrictive laws and measures, aimed at combating causes that motivate refugees to flee. It goes without any saying, that protecting... 01/10/2024 | 18:19:23 Distinguished President, dear colleagues, The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is the European political body with the widest democratic legitimacy, since it reflects the parliaments' composition of almost all European countries. Hence, diminishing this scope always carries the risk of undermining its own legitimacy. This might be the case with the decision from January this year not to ratify the credentials of the Azerbaijani delegation. With such a decision, the... 01/10/2024 | 12:25:08 Thank you, distinguished President, Secretary General, Congratulations on your election. While the period of 26 years of the overall impact of the Framework Convention on National Minorities can be considered positive, in some cases – we are all aware – states only formally address issues without really committing to practical implementation, and often issues of educational and language rights of people belonging to national minorities remain unresolved. Therefore the political group I am... 16/04/2024 | 19:50:03 Thank you, Mister President. There is no point of agreements, if we don't force them to be implemented. So we agree with this really good paragraph, but at the end of it, we would like to add a really good sentence and which is logical that the Assembly invites the Committee of Ministers to ensure that Kosovo acts in accordance with the agreement on regional representational cooperation reached back in 2012 under European Union-facilitated dialogue, and fully implements the agreements reached... 16/04/2024 | 19:46:41 Yeah, if it is possible. Dear colleagues, [The Chair interrupts confirming a change between Ms Dunja SIMONOVIĆ BRATIĆ and Ms Elvira KOVÁCS] Thank you. As we all know, the Committee of Ministers asked for our opinion of the recommendation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the decision will be final, as we could hear at the Committee of Ministers. But anyway, we would like to put here that the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers postpone its decision on...