Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Brankica Jankovic, met with Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia, Damjan Bergant, with whom she discussed the improvement of human rights and mechanisms for protection against discrimination, as well as further European integration of Serbia, bearing in mind that Slovenia took over EU presidency on 1st of July.

Jankovic agreed with Bergant that it is very important that Slovenia takes over the presidency of the European Union at this moment, in order to return the issue of enlargement and the Western Balkans high on the agenda of priorities. Commissioner presented to Ambassador the most important activities that the institution undertakes in the field of protection and promotion of equality, as a fundamental value of every democratic society, as well as the challenges it faced during the suppression of the pandemic. She also emphasized the importance of the very successful and continuous cooperation she has with the Slovenian representative of the principle of equality, Miha Lobnik, and confirmed her participation in the regional conference of all euality bodies, which will be held on October 20, 2021 in Ljubljana. The conference will be held within the Initiative for Cooperation of Equality Bodies, which was launched in 2016 in Belgrade.

Ambassador pointed out that the priorities of the Slovenian presidency will be strengthening the EU’s resilience in the future, recovery after the pandemic, as well as the extention of the EU enlargement process to the countries of the Western Balkans. Accordingly, he supported Commissioner in her efforts to promote equality, the rule of law and tolerance, which are important for accelerating Serbia’s EU accession process.