“Serbia should request EU standards for Serbs in region”

BELGRADE Serbia should raise the issue of rights of around two millions of Serbs in the region, says Office for Cooperation with the Diaspora Director Slavka Draskovic. She noted that Serbs in the region faced a series of problems and that Belgrade should demand European standards and models for them. “Serbia should request EU standards for Serbs in region” Draskovic announced a public debate in parliament on Thursday about problems of the Serbs in the region. She stated that around 1.9 millions of Serbs lived in the countries of the region and that the figure was probably around 2.1 million since some were not listed in the official records. Serbian parliament’s Committee on Diaspora and Serbs in the Region Chairman Aleksandar Cotric has said that the goal of the public debate is to include the diaspora in the making of the draft changes to the Law on the Diaspora and changes to the election legislation that could allow Serbs in the region to have their representatives in the Serbian parliament. He said that liberalization of the citizenship application procedure for Serbs living outside of Serbia would be discussed on Thursday and that representatives of eight countries of the region, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Romania, Albania and Hungary, including Republic of Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik, would attend the debate. “The status of Serbs in some countries of the region is unenviable, they do not have an opportunity to declare themselves as Serbs and they do not have a status of minority and they are exposed to assimilation,” Cotric said. Commenting on the work of the government’s Office for Cooperation with the Diaspora in the past 100 days, Draskovic said that a memorandum between Serbia and the RS on a joint strategy for the Serbian diaspora had been harmonized and that the office was working on changes to the Law on the Diaspora and an action plan for the implementation of the Strategy for Diaspora. Tanjug

“Serbia should request EU standards for Serbs in region”

Drašković announced a public debate in parliament on Thursday about problems of the Serbs in the region.

She stated that around 1.9 millions of Serbs lived in the countries of the region and that the figure was probably around 2.1 million since some were not listed in the official records.

Serbian parliament’s Committee on Diaspora and Serbs in the Region Chairman Aleksandar Čotrić has said that the goal of the public debate is to include the diaspora in the making of the draft changes to the Law on the Diaspora and changes to the election legislation that could allow Serbs in the region to have their representatives in the Serbian parliament.

He said that liberalization of the citizenship application procedure for Serbs living outside of Serbia would be discussed on Thursday and that representatives of eight countries of the region, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Romania, Albania and Hungary, including Republic of Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik, would attend the debate.

“The status of Serbs in some countries of the region is unenviable, they do not have an opportunity to declare themselves as Serbs and they do not have a status of minority and they are exposed to assimilation,” Čotrić said.

Commenting on the work of the government’s Office for Cooperation with the Diaspora in the past 100 days, Drašković said that a memorandum between Serbia and the RS on a joint strategy for the Serbian diaspora had been harmonized and that the office was working on changes to the Law on the Diaspora and an action plan for the implementation of the Strategy for Diaspora.