Dear Mrs. Brnabić,

Regarding the proposed meeting on further steps in the European integration process and the upcoming referendum, taking into account the importance of the topic and the results of the dialogue with all branches of government in the process of changing the Constitution, the position of the Working Group of the National Convention on Chapter 23 is that a discussion with you on the topic of the upcoming referendum may diminish the credibility of the National Convention, as well as the legitimacy of the referendum process as a whole.

Our working group is of the opinion that citizens should use their right to decide in a referendum on changing the Constitution and will call on them to do so. We will continue to inform the citizens about the content of the Act on the Change of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, so that they can make an informed decision. The members of the Convention will do their best to provide citizens, through individual engagement, with information on the reasons and goals of changing the Constitution, current and proposed solutions, as well as arguments for and against confirming the Act amending the Constitution. We will also invite the Republic Election Commission to, in accordance with the provisions of Article 26 para. 2. of the Law on Referendum and People’s Initiative, provide the widest information to voters on issues decided in the referendum, as well as the reasons presented in favor and against the confirmation of changes to the Constitution, which was not done in the published “Information on the Act amending the Constitution Of Serbia” whose confirmation the citizens are voting on in the republican referendum called for January 16, 2022.  We thank you for the initiative and understanding of our decision to remove the issue of the upcoming referendum from the agenda. This decision was considered and made in the interest of the legitimacy of the current process, which puts us in the position of protecting the interests of both the Government of Serbia as the initiator of the meeting and the invited organizations, members of the National Convention.

NCEU Working Group for Chapter 23