European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) President Oliver Röpke told the European Western Balkans portal that the initiative to welcome civil society organizations from European Union candidate countries is an important step towards integration.

The EESC launched the initiative last week after selecting 131 civil society organizations from candidate countries to take part in its activities. The EESC is an advisory body for EU institutions.

“I believe that this is an important step for gradual integration and enlargement of the EU. But furthermore, this is also a step to involve civil society representatives from candidate countries in EU affairs. To give them a voice. And this actually is one of the main objective of our visit to Serbia,” Ropke is quoted as saying.

He added that the initiative gives independent civil society organisations a stronger voice in Brussels because it’s the first time they can speak up in an official EU institution. “We think it is a great opportunity for candidate countries to shape the future of the EU actively, and not only as observers as it was in the past,” he said.

He said civil society organizations need to be strengthened and added that social and civil dialogue is crucial.

“More specifically on Serbia, I think our committee will always call for an open and meaningful dialogue between government and civil society, social partners and political organisations. Dialogue is the DNA of our committee and it is key from our perspective. This is why I also had talks with Serbian government representatives, in order to convey to them the preoccupations of the Serbian civil society,” Ropke said.

He expressed serious concern about the situation following December’s elections and added that the recommendations in the final OSCE ODIHR report must be implemented transparently and in a timely manner. “We call on the authorities in Serbia to ensure a constructive and inclusive dialogue across the political spectrum. This is crucial from our point of view,” he said.