Assistant to the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Mirjana Kecman, was on a three-day study visit to Brussels as part of the training “Strengthening the professional capacities of civil servants at positions in the RS”, which is being implemented by the National Academy for Public Administration, with the support of the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia. The aim of the visit of the first group of 22 participants of the training was to improve knowledge related to the process of accession of the Republic of Serbia to the European Union, which is part of the training program “Membership in the EU” intended for managers in the state administration.

The trainees visited some of the EU institutions, where they had the opportunity to meet with their officials. In the European Parliament, they were addressed by, among others, Vladimir Bilčík, EP rapporteur for Serbia, as well as David McAllister, president of the EP Committee on Foreign Affairs, who presented them with current issues in the process of Serbia’s accession to the EU and the way EU bodies function. Support in the realization of this visit was provided by the Mission of the Republic of Serbia to the EU, and the Head of the Mission, Ambassador Ana Hrustanović, spoke with the members of the study visit about the current state of affairs in the process of accession of our country to the EU.

The visit also included meetings with representatives of the General Directorates – DG NEAR and DG CNECT, as well as a tour of the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Slovenia to the EU, where the participants of the training learned firsthand how the process of accession of Slovenia to the EU has developed, as well as what the EU mechanism looks like now from the point of view of a member country. On the last working day, the participants also visited the EU’s European External Action Service (EEAS), where they learned about the details of the creation and implementation of the EU’s common foreign and security policy.