Civilno društvo u procesu evropske integracije – od konstruktivnog dijaloga do uspešnih pregovora
Civil society in the process of European integration - from constructive dialogue to successful negotiations

Author(s): Maja Bobić, Relja Božić
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Civil Society, EU-Approach / EU-Accession / EU-Development
Published by: Evropski Pokret u Srbiji
Keywords: civil society organizations; membership negotiations; Serbia-EU; European integration
Summary/Abstract: Six months after receiving the official status of a candidate for membership in the European Union, the Republic of Serbia is faced with the challenge of obtaining a date when negotiations on full membership will begin. Bearing in mind the orientation, but also the capacities of the Government, which is the only one authorized to officially lead this process, it is necessary to point out the importance of including representatives of civil society in the negotiation process, in order to ensure a comprehensive and consensus-based negotiation platform for the areas on which negotiations are conducted. In this paper, the process and structure of negotiations are analyzed, as well as the possibilities for more active involvement of non-state entities, especially civil society organizations (CSOs) in this process. A comparative analysis presents the experiences of two countries from the region, one of which, Croatia, has completed the negotiation process, and the other, Montenegro, is about to begin. The analysis testifies to the wide potential space for better performance, but also the influence of CSOs both through a more adequate legislative framework and through a more transparent and inclusive approach. In the end, a set of recommendations was presented, of which we consider the most important to be based on the law, the mandatory inclusion of representatives of civil society organizations in the process of preparing and conducting negotiations with the EU.

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