When the same recommendations are repeated for years, and the state does not implement them, it is legitimate to talk about a lack of political will, said the coordinator of the National Convention on to the European Union Bojana Selaković, commenting on the report of the Group of States for the fight against corruption (GRECO).
Serbia has satisfactorily implemented three out of a total of 24 GRECO recommendations, it was stated in the Evaluation Report for the fifth round of that anti-corruption body of the Council of Europe. Of the remaining 21 recommendations, ten of them were partially implemented, while 11 recommendations were not implemented.
Selaković assessed that the latest GRECO report fits in with numerous other reports on the state of the rule of law and the fight against corruption in Serbia.
"GRECO, ODIHR, European Commission - all those reports from different angles describe the same problem. Then the state deals with percentages, deadlines and wording from the reports, instead of their essence, we are disgusted by that and so we have been spinning in the same circle for years," stated Selaković in a statement to the FoNet agency.
According to her, it is particularly problematic that GRECO's recommendations do not represent technical or particularly complicated requirements, but refer to control mechanisms and responsibilities of the highest state officials.
"We have been waiting for years for integrity checks when appointing ministers, a code of conduct for the highest representatives of the executive power, clearer rules on their responsibility and limiting immunity when it comes to corruption," said Selaković.
Cluster openings only extended stay ticket
She assessed that the reforms in the areas where the government should limit itself and subject itself to control "stand still", regardless of the number of regulations that are harmonized with European legislation in other areas.
"And as long as this is the case, there can be no substantial progress in European integration," Selaković said.
She emphasized that essential progress does not mean only the opening of negotiation clusters, but concrete reforms that lead to the closing of Chapters 23 and 24, that is, the fulfillment of the requirements of the Report on the Fulfillment of Transitional Criteria (IBAR).
"The opening of the cluster is only a ticket for an extended stay on the European road, and the essential steps are those that lead to the closure of Chapters 23 and 24, without which there is no acceleration of the road to EU membership," said Selaković.
According to her, when the GRECO and ODIHR reports show a different situation, there will be no need to question whether there is political will for Serbia's progress in European integration.
"When the GRECO and ODIHR reports look different, the question of the existence of political will for progress in European integration will not need to be raised," Selaković concluded.
Source: FoNet
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