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The European Union has welcomed the result of a referendum on constitutional changes in Serbia held on January 16th. The European bloc again expressed regret for not finding a solution to enable the referendum vote to be held in Kosovo.
“According to the preliminary results, the voters who went to the polls on Sunday in Serbia to vote for the constitutional changes express their support for the proposal. “The EU welcomes the completion of this important step of constitutional reform aimed at strengthening the independence of the judiciary, in line with Serbia’s strategic orientation for EU membership,” the EU said on January 17th.
Authorities in Kosovo have said that all Serb citizens, with dual citizenship, could exercise their right to vote in the Serbian referendum through the post office or the Serbian Liaison Office in Pristina.
“The EU regrets the impossibility of reaching an agreement with the Government of Kosovo to allow the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to collect ballots in Kosovo, in line with past practice,” the EU said. .
In the past, Kosovo has not been hampered by the holding of Serbian presidential and parliamentary elections in Serb-majority areas in Kosovo, and votes have been collected by the OSCE.
In Serbia, authorities said more than 60 per cent of those polled had voted in favor of the proposed changes.
The question of the referendum was: “Are you in favor of confirming the Law amending the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia?”.
The changes concern the way judges and prosecutors are elected in order to reduce political influence in the process, the Serbian government has said.
Meanwhile, the European Union called on Serbia to continue the reform process, because, as he said, the strengthening of the judiciary does not end with this referendum.
“The reform process to strengthen the independence of the judiciary does not end here and must continue. A number of laws need to be amended for the effective implementation of constitutional changes. “This must be prepared as a priority through relevant legal reforms, in line with European standards,” said the EU.
The European bloc also welcomed the position of the Government of Serbia to involve the Venice Commission in the next steps and offered financial and technical assistance for the implementation of reforms in Serbia./REL/
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