07 February 2015
The Working Group 18 of the National Convention on the European Union for Chapters 25 and 26 of the acquis (Science and Research; Education and Culture), whose work coordinate Centre for Education Policy and Educational Forum, held its inaugural meeting on Friday, February 6 2015, at the premises of the National Assembly of Serbia. The Working group 18 includes over 20 civil society organisations.
Tanja Miščević, head of the Negotiating Team for negotiations on the accession of the Republic of Serbia to the European Union, opened the meeting underlining the importance of the Chapters 25 and 26 for the process of EU integration. Zorana Lužanin, assistant minister in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development informed the group about the activities MESTD has conducted within the Chapter 26, while Viktor Nedović, assistant minister in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development reported on the activities conducted within the Chapter 25.
Desanka Radunović, president of the National Educational Council and representative of Serbia in thematic group School Policies, presented the participation of the Republic of Serbia in the Open Method of Coordination of the European Union in Education and Training. On behalf of the European Movement, which initiated the National Convention on EU, Ivan Knežević presented experiences of the working groups of the NCEU that had already been established. The meeting was chaired by Žaklina Veselinović who, on behalf of the Centre for Education Policy, emphasized the importance of the National Convention of the European Union and the contribution of civil society organisations in the fields of education, science, research and culture for the further course of accession negotiations. "It is very important for us, as citizens of Serbia, to participate in the work of the National Convention, because it is a mechanism that channels the energy of civil society organizations and has the potential to be a stable partner in this process in upcoming years."
The second part of the meeting was devoted to the presentation of the work plan for 2015 and the agreement on the future activities of the Working Group 18.
