07/03/2011 President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu today stressed the need to complete quickly Serbia’s key outstanding commitments and obligations to the Council of Europe. “The reforms should not slow down,” he said, during a press conference in Belgrade. “The Serbian Government and Parliament should intensify efforts to amend the electoral legislation and abolish the so-called ‘party-administered mandates’, strengthen the independence of the judiciary, step up efforts to fight corruption and continue strengthening minority rights. The Assembly stands ready to support Serbia in this process through the monitoring procedure,” he added.
Mr Çavusoglu is currently making an official visit to Serbia, which will end tomorrow evening. In Belgrade, he has already met the Speaker of Parliament, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as the members of the Serbian delegation to the Assembly. He has also addressed the National Assembly this morning. Tomorrow, Mr Çavusoglu will travel to the autonomous province of Vojvodina in Serbia, where he will meet local government officials and representatives of national minorities.