C 47/114
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
7.2.2023
Wednesday 6 July 2022
80.
Welcomes the adoption of the National Strategy for War Crimes Prosecution for the period 2021-2026 and the recent start of the work of various bodies and reporting mechanisms linked to its work; underlines the importance of transparent and inclusive implementation of the Strategy; urges the Serbian authorities to act decisively against the glorification of convicted war criminals and to cease all divisive rhetoric and actions that undermine the integrity of countries in the neighbourhood and threaten regional stability and reconciliation; urges the Serbian authorities to show a genuine commitment to investigating and bring to court war crimes cases; reiterates that there is no place in Europe for genocide denial; 81.
Stresses the importance of regional cooperation on war crimes and missing persons, calls on the Serbian authorities to condemn all forms of hate speech, intimidation campaigns and public approval and denial of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes; regrets that some Serbian authorities and some Serbian politicians continue to deny the Srebrenica genocide; calls on Serbian authorities to ensure the continuation of war crimes trials, including at local level, and achieve justice for victims by recognising and respecting court verdicts on war crimes, fighting against impunity for wartime crimes, investigating cases of missing persons, investigating grave sites, and supporting domestic prosecutors in bringing perpetrators to justice; 82.
Condemns the growing presence of convicted war criminals, such as Veselin Šljivančanin, Dragoljub Ojdanić and Nikola Šainović, in the media space, which they use to spread hatred and intolerance towards national minorities in Serbia; 83.
Calls for the EU and its allies to further strengthen the work on reconciliation; welcomes the renewed engagement of the EU allies, in particular the appointment of US, UK and German special envoys for the Western Balkans, calls for them to engage in close cooperation and coordination with the EU envoy with a view to strengthening leverage and providing coherent advice and support; 84.
Reiterates its support for the initiative to establish the Regional Commission for the establishment of facts about war crimes and other gross human rights violations on the territory of the former Yugoslavia (RECOM); 85.
Welcomes the start of implementation of a roaming-free zone in the entire Western Balkans as of 1 July 2021, improving connectivity and bringing tangible and concrete benefits to citizens and businesses in the region; welcomes the adoption of the Brdo Declaration signed by EU officials and leaders of Western Balkan countries recognising the importance of this achievement; urges the Council and the Commission to work with the authorities of the Western Balkan countries in order to eliminate roaming charges between the Western Balkans and the European Union; 86.
Urges the Serbian authorities to unambiguously support setting up of a common regional market within the Berlin Process framework as a stepping stone on its EU accession path; emphasises that all regional economic cooperation schemes in the Western Balkans should be inclusive and acceptable to all six countries, establishing cooperation on an equal footing among all six countries, while strengthening further alignment with EU standards and the acquis;
Socio-economic reforms 87.
Welcomes the progress made in developing a functioning market economy, although the state retains a strong footprint, and the fact that the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the economy was successfully mitigated by, inter alia, timely fiscal and monetary support measures; calls nonetheless on Serbian authorities to provide for targeted pandemic-related support for vulnerable households and businesses; notes that the EU has continued to provide essential support to Serbia for its socio-economic recovery and for immediate medical needs, including additional support of EUR 10 million; 88.
Notes with concern that none of the allegations mentioned in the previous report made by investigative journalists about government manipulation of COVID-19 statistics for political purposes have been investigated; stresses that trust and transparency are of particular importance in the government’s efforts against COVID-19 and therefore urges the Serbian government to provide all relevant statistics to citizens; 89.
Notes that despite improvements, the labour market still suffers from structural problems and demographic and migration challenges; calls on Serbia to improve women’s position in the labour market and further tailor education and training to labour market needs, in particular in the area of vocational education and training and linked to the green and digital transition;