The fifth meeting of the EU-Serbia Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) took place on 3 October in Belgrade. This body, established by the Government of the Republic of Serbia, is in charge of monitoring the implementation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement and providing assistance to the Stabilization and Association Council in promoting dialogue and cooperation between social partners and other civil society organizations in the EU and Serbia.
The JCC's members discussed the current state of play and the work ahead in Serbia's accession negotiations.
At the beginning of the meeting, Minister for Environmental Protection Goran Trivan said that as a state we will succeed in protecting the environment and mitigating the consequences of climate change only if we unite the strengths and knowledge of institutions, professions, civil society organizations.
Emphasizing the importance of protecting the environment and conserving nature, Minister Trivan stressed that afforestation is the most efficient and cheapest way to mitigate climate change and added that the Ministry of Environmental Protection will work intensively on this. He thanked the civil society organizations and the media for contributing to the establishment of a special Ministry for Environmental Protection.
The JCC believes that it is essential to involve CSOs in the much-needed changes to production and consumption throughout the transition to an inclusive green economy at all levels. The JCC calls on stakeholders responsible for air quality monitoring, including those at local level, to ensure that the measuring system is well maintained and that data are made available. In the water management sector, the JCC stresses the need for urgent adoption of the most relevant national documents and completion of important environmental infrastructure projects. The JCC calls for better cooperation between institutions and civil society organisations in the field of nature protection. The Serbian authorities must take immediate steps to comply with the Industrial Emissions Directive and the Energy Community Treaty.
More should be invested, at EU level and in Serbia, in new methods of production and consumption connected to the functional economy, such as product eco-design, energy efficiency measures, renewable energy, the circular economy, the collaborative economy and the economy for the common good. The Serbian authorities need to develop a National Climate Change Strategy (NCCS) and fully align it with the EU 2030 Climate and Energy Framework, as well as the EU 2050 Roadmap. Following the ratification of the Paris Agreement, the JCC calls upon Serbian authorities to focus on accelerating its implementation. The JCC invites Serbian authorities to develop projects that support real greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction and build up the country’s resilience to climate impact in order to access funding from EU, regional and other international donors.
