Präsentation

D-RS: Delegation to EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee

The European Parliament's relations with the Narodna Skupština, the Republic of Serbia's parliament, are channelled through its Delegation to the EU‑Serbia Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee, abbreviated as D-RS.

As the name of the delegation indicates, a specific forum - a "Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee" - has been established to bring together elected representatives from the European and Serbian legislatures.

The 15-member D-RS delegation, created in 2014, represents the European Parliament's half of this committee.

Members and Chair

In addition to its 15 full members, the European Parliament's Serbia Delegation counts 15 substitute members.

Serbia's delegation to the joint committee also includes 15 full members and 15 substitutes, providing a balanced counterpart to the European Parliament's group.

Alessandra MORETTI (S&D, IT) was elected as the Chair of the European Parliament's Serbia Delegation on 23 June 2022. The delegation's 1st Vice-Chair is Franc BOGOVIČ (PPE, SL), and its 2nd Vice-Chair is Petros KOKKALIS (GUE/NGL, EL).

Delegation work

The delegation meets on its own occasionally in Brussels or Strasbourg.

These meetings focus on preparations for the Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee sessions and exchanging views with important interlocutors from Serbia, people working on Serbia, outside experts, Serbia's ambassador to the EU and staff from other EU institutions.

The meetings also address administrative matters, such as the election of Bureau members (Chair or Vice-Chairs).

Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee meetings

The lion's share of the delegation's work is invested in the Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee.

The committee meets twice a year, either in Serbia or within the European Parliament, usually in Strasbourg. Each event normally continues for two half days and includes, in addition to regular parliamentary work, exchanges of views with representatives of the executive branch from the Serbian government, the European Commission, the European External Action Service and the EU's rotating presidency.

An agenda of each meeting usually focuses on 5-8 topics important to bilateral relations. Each topic is introduced by a "first speaker" - usually a member of the joint committee. The first speaker's introduction is followed by an exchange of views with all the committee members.

At the end of its sessions, the committee generally adopts a set of "declaration and recommendations". These must be approved by a simple majority of the members of each delegation who are also present at the meeting. To date, the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee has succeeded in adopting recommendations at every meeting.

Each committee meeting finishes with a press conference of the Co-Chairs.

The committee sessions are public. Minutes of the committee meeting are adopted at the following meeting, and audio recordings of the meetings are available on request. Some meetings may be web-streamed on the web page of the European Parliament or of the Narodna Skupština.

Travelling

The European Parliament's delegation usually travels to Serbia once a year for meetings of the Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee. These trips also generally include additional discussions with ambassadors from the EU, NGOs and representatives of the Serbian administration. These provide useful and informed - though also sometimes divergent - views of the local situation.

MEPs also participate in field visits to projects financed from EU sources. This allows them to scrutinise how EU funds are used abroad and report back to the European Parliament's appropriate committees, in order to help the committees fulfill with their budgetary and legislative responsibilities.


Article 125 of the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Agreement

STABILISATION AND ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT
between the European Communities and their Member States of the one part, and the Republic of Serbia, of the other part

Article 125

A Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee is hereby established. It shall be a forum for Members of the Parliament of Serbia and of the European Parliament to meet and exchange views. It shall meet at intervals that it shall itself determine.

The Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee shall consist of members of the European Parliament and of members of the Parliament of Serbia.

The Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee shall establish its rules of procedure.

The Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee shall be chaired in turn by a member of the European Parliament and by a member of the Parliament of Serbia, in accordance with the provisions to be laid down in its rules of procedure.