Commissioner za Justice Mike McGrath of the European Union called on Thursday (February 5) at a meeting in Brussels with the Minister of Justice of Serbia, Nenad Vujić, to suspend the adopted amendments to judicial laws and their immediate revision.
"The Commissioner clearly highlighted our serious concerns and expectations regarding the next steps: we call on the competent authorities to find legal ways to suspend the implementation of the changes and to urgently approach the revision of the adopted changes in order to respond to our objections. The revisions must respect a transparent and inclusive consultation process with all relevant actors, including the European Commission and the Venice Commission," European Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier told N1.
He added that the European Commission will convey this message to other levels of government.
Mercier reiterated that the European Commission "regrets that the president of Serbia signed changes to key judicial lawsa".
"Already last week, we clearly stated our position on these changes: they represent a serious step backwards on Serbia's path towards joining the European Union and undermine the previously undertaken obligations and the progress achieved", repeated Mercier.
He once again reminded that, within the process of accession to the European Union, Serbia undertook to strengthen the independence of the judiciary and the independence of the prosecution, including taking into account the recommendations of the European Commission.
Vujić secretly in Brussels?
The set of judicial laws that the Parliament of Serbia recently adopted, and the president of the country, despite opposition from the profession and criticism from the EU, still signed, were a topic in Brussels.
The Minister of Justice of Serbia, Nenad Vujić, secretly came to the EU center to talk with the Commissioner for Justice, Michael McGrath.
Although the state, after N1 asked about it, admitted that the meeting was planned, Vujić was not allowed to appear in front of the journalists after it, but instead sent a statement.
In it, it is written that Vuijić informed the commissioner that "amendments to the set of judicial laws adopted in the Serbian Parliament, including the initiatives of MP Uglješa Mrdić, represent a significant contribution to more efficient work of the judiciary, better protection of citizens' rights and improvement of the rule of law". And that they asked for the evaluation of the Venice Commission and almost nothing more.
Source: H1
