In order to include the civil society in the process of accession negotiations with the European Union, the National Convention on the European Union (NCEU) was established as a platform that should facilitate dialogue between the civil society and representatives of the National Assembly, the Government and the Negotiating Team, and ensure the monitoring of compliance with the conditions for membership and provision of quality information to the public.

NCEU, in addition to the Presidency and the Programme Council, consists of the working groups formed for different negotiation chapters. Praxis, in accordance with its mandate, has joined the working groups that monitor the compliance with benchmark requirements for Chapter 19 - Social Policy and Employment, Chapter 23 - Judiciary and Fundamental Rights and Chapter 24 - Justice, Freedom and Security.

The working group that monitors Chapter 19 - Social Policy and Employment monitors also Chapter 2 – Freedom of Movement for Workers. Within chapter 19, the Working Group will, inter alia, consider the obligations in the field of social inclusion and poverty reduction. The Working Group Coordinator is the Centre for Democracy Foundation.

Within the monitoring of Chapter 23, the Working Group will contribute to ensuring respect for human rights and human dignity, freedom, democracy, the principles of equality, and to achieving the rule of law. The Working Group Coordinator is the Human Rights House.

The goal of the Working Group on Chapter 24 is to monitor the process of Serbia’s negotiations with the EU and contribute to the formulation of proposals for the improvement of policies in the area of justice, freedom and security. The Working Group Coordinator is the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy.

The accession negotiation with the European Union is a long-lasting process, which means that the impact of civil society on the state’s negotiating position can be measured only at the end. Until then, we believe that it is very important that the formation of NCEU working groups has opened up the possibility for the civil society to participate actively in this process.