Korak bliže Evropskoj uniji/One Step Closer to the European Union

Zakon o zabrani diskriminacije Korak bliže Evropskoj uniji U konačnoj verziji, sporni član 21 glasi: "Seksualna orijentacija je privatna stvar i niko ne može biti pozvan da se javno izjasni o svojoj seksualnoj orijentaciji. Svako ima pravo na slobodu izražavanja svoje seksualne orijentacije, a diskriminatorsko postupanje zbog izražavanja seksualne orijentacije je zabranjeno". Kolika je ovo pitanje sporno dokazuje i činjenica da nema pouzdanih istraživačkih podataka o broju homoseksualno orijentisanih ljudi u Srbiji, a procene idu u rasponu od 5 do 35 % Piše MILENA STOŠIĆ Niš, SRBIJA Pre samo deset godina građani Srbije krili su se po podrumima i skloništima i bežali od NATO bombi, izolovani od ostatka Evrope i sveta. Danas Srbija najzad ispunjava i poslednji pravni uslov za stavljanje na belu šengen listu, kao jedan u nizu koraka ka EU - usvojen je Zakon o zabrani diskriminacije. Nakon prezentovanja predloga zakona stigle su primedbe tradicionalnih crkava i verskih zajednica na pojedine članove, zbog čega je akt 4. marta povučen na doradu. Medijska halabuka potrajala je dvadesetak dana, ali je zakon ipak izglasan u Skupštini Srbije 26. marta sa 127 glasova "za" (od 250). Iako građani Srbije smatraju da je stavljanje na belu šengen listu značajno za našu zemlju (87%), a usklađivanje zakonodavstva sa evropskim neophodan je uslov za ulazak u EU, ne može se nikako reći da je usvajanje ovog zakona prošlo glatko, bez protesta i preispitivanja - koja je i kolika cena ulaska u EU. Teško do Zakona Predlog zakona o zabrani diskriminacije izradili su stručnjaci iz nevladinog, civilnog i akademskog sektora, uz podršku Ministarstva rada i socijalne politike i Programa UN za razvoj (UNDP), kao i uz pomoć delegacije Evropske Komisije u Beogradu. Nacrt ovog zakona u decembru 2007. godine dobio je veoma povoljno mišljenje Venecijanske komisije Saveta Evrope, a javna rasprava održana je tokom novembra i decembra 2008. u više gradova Srbije. U izveštaju Evropske Komisije za 2008. godinu navodi se da u praksi još uvek postoji široko rasprostranjena diskriminacija. Tradicionalne crkve i verske zajednice istakle su, iznoseći svoje primedbe na predlog zakona, da nisu bile pozvane na javnu raspravu. U njihovom saopštenju navodi se da sporni predlog garantuje pravo na slobodu javnog izražavanja seksualne orijentacije, a da tako nešto ne postoji ni u jednom međunarodnom ugovoru o zabrani diskriminacije, ni u jednoj evropskoj direktivi, ni u jednom relevantnom evropskom ili svetskom zakonodavstvu. Boris Milićević, predsednik GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) smatra da su tradicionalne crkve i verske zajednice imale prilike da učestvuju u javnoj raspravi, ali su one to izbegavale - "baš zato što ne prihvataju protivargumente. One su, zajedno sa desničarskim organizacijama, suštinski protiv koncepta jednakosti svih građana". U već pomenutom saopštenju, tradicionalne crkve i verske zajednice ogradile su se od sadejstva sa bilo kojom političkom strankom. Nakon povlačenja predloga ovog zakona GSA je objavila apel 91 nevladine organizacije za vraćanjem i usvajanjem zakona u neizmenjenom obliku. "I Evropska unija, i Savet Evrope, i Ujedinjene nacije i Evropska komisija eksplicitno su zahtevali od Srbije da u najskorije vreme donese sveobuhvatan antidiskriminacioni zakon, posebno navodeći Rome, nacionalne manjine, male verske zajednice, hendikepirane i LGBT populaciju (lezbejke, gej, biseksualne i transrodne osobe) kao grupe koje moraju biti zaštićene ovim zakonom", objašnjava za WAVE magazine Boris Milićević. Jedna od izmena koju su predložile tradicionalne crkve i verske zajednice sastojala se u brisanju dela - "svako ima pravo na slobodu izražavanja svoje seksualne orijentacije". U obrazloženju se kaže da ne vređa moral i verska uverenja sama seksualna orijentacija, već njeno javno izražavanje, kao i da sloboda izražavanja nije garancija slobode. Zanimljivo je da se u obrazloženju ne govori o homoseksualnoj ili "posebnoj", već o seksualnoj orijentaciji uopšte. Spec. med. psihologije Miroslava Vuković iz Savetovališta za seksualnu orijentaciju Zavoda za zdravstvenu zaštitu studenata Beograd, objašnjava za WAVE magazine da je "stav crkve i nauke o brojnim pitanjima različit, ne samo kada je reč o homoseksualnosti već generalno, a posebno kada su u pitanju seksualnost, odnosno seksualno ponašanje ljudi". Taj stav vezuje se u principu za zabranu predbračne i vanbračne seksualne aktivnosti, korišćenje kontracepcije, abortusu... Prema popisu Republičkog zavoda za statistiku iz 2002. godine, čak 7.123.611 građana Srbije, od 7.498.001 popisanih, izjasnilo se kao vernici. Postavlja se pitanje da li zaista svi oni poštuju seksualnu apstinenciju i ostale stavove crkava. S druge strane, 60% građana smatra da je crkva u pravu što osuđuje pojavu homoseksualnosti (prema istraživanju CeSID-a iz februara i marta 2008). Javna ili tajna orijentacija Mišljenja stručnjaka - psihologa i psihijatara o adekvatnosti upotrebe reči "orijentacija" u sintagmi seksualna orijentacija podeljena su. Neosporno je da ima onih koji smatraju da je homoseksualnost poremećaj polnog nagona, a kada je reč o građanima Srbije njih čak 70% slaže se sa tvrdnjom da je to bolest (prema istraživanju CeSID-a). Možda je razlog za takav stav i u tome što se tek skoro pojavilo saopštenje gde se homoseksualnost kao bolest negira: "Srpsko lekarsko društvo je 2008. godine, a na inicijativu Labrisa - Organizacije za lezbejska ljudska prava, izdalo saopštenje u kome se potvrđuje ovakav stručni stav", kaže Miroslava Vuković. Takođe, Boris Milićević podseća da je "homoseksualnost u Srbiji dekriminalizovana (1994.) i depatologizovana (istovremeno kada i Svetska zdravstvena organizacija 1990.)", što će reći još i pre početka procesa integracije Srbije u EU. Istraživanje CeSID-a pokazuje i da građani ne bi voleli / želeli: da su u srodstvu sa osobom homoseksualnih sklonosti, da se sa takvom osobom druže ili posećuju, da takva osoba ima rukovodeći položaj u državi i da im bude šef na poslu. Čak 75% ispitanika ne želi da takva osoba bude vaspitač / nastavnik njihovoj deci. Logično je onda zaključiti i da teško da ima roditelja kome bi bilo svejedno da se njegovo dete izjasni kao LGBT osoba. Kada je reč o broju homoseksualno orijentisanih ljudi u Srbiji danas - nema pouzdanih istraživačkih podataka, a procene idu u rasponu od 5 do 35%. "Prema procenama nekih NVO koje se bave pravima osoba neheteroseksualne orijentacije, u Srbiji ima 600-700.000 homoseksualnih osoba. Prema vrlo obuhvatnom istraživanju o zdravstvenom ponašanju srednjoškolske i studentske omladine (uzorak 5.385 studenata oba pola, iz svih univerzitetskih centara u Srbiji), u kome je učestvovala i naša ustanova, 2000. godine se kao heteroseksualno opredelilo 76,08% studenata, homoseksualno 1,21%, biseksualno - 4,03%, a 9,17% je izjavilo da nije sigurno u pogledu svoje seksualne orijentacije", navodi Miroslava Vuković. Na putu ka belom šengenu Cela priča oko Zakona o zabrani diskriminacije odigrala se veoma brzo. Verzija koja je na kraju usvojena kaže da se diskriminacijom neće smatrati postupanje sveštenika i verskih službenika u skladu sa njihovim uverenjima i zakonom. Izbrisan je stav koji se odnosi na transseksualce i konačno, član 21 oko koga se i najviše diskutovalo, sada glasi: "Seksualna orijentacija je privatna stvar i niko ne može biti pozvan da se javno izjasni o svojoj seksualnoj orijentaciji. Svako ima pravo na slobodu izražavanja svoje seksualne orijentacije, a diskriminatorsko postupanje zbog izražavanja seksualne orijentacije je zabranjeno." Kazne koje predviđa ovaj zakon kreću se od 5.000 do 100.000 dinara. Kakvi će biti efekti i koliko će ko biti zadovoljan ishodom, tek će se pokazati kroz praksu i primenu ovog pravnog akta. S obzirom da je zakon ipak usvojen i put ka belom šengenu prokrčen, možemo pretpostaviti da je i put Srbije ka Evropskoj uniji kraći za jedan korak, i to ne samo u smislu legislativa, već i u svesti ljudi o tome ko smo, gde smo i kuda idemo. (Objavljeno: 15.04.2009.) Anti-Discrimination Law One Step Closer to the European Union The final version of the article 21, which has caused most controversy, states: "Sexual orientation is a private matter and no one may be asked to publicly declare their sexual orientation. Everyone has the right to freely declare their sexual orientation, and discrimination against such declaration is prohibited". Even the fact that there are no reliable data that show the number of homosexually oriented people in Serbia, with the estimates ranging from 5 to 35 per cent, proves this to be a debatable question By MILENA STOŠIĆ from Niš, SERBIA Just 10 years ago people in Serbia hid in basements and bomb shelters, running away from NATO bombs, isolated from the rest of Europe and the world. Today, Serbia finally fulfills the last legal prerequisite to be put on the white Schengen list, as one of a number of steps towards the European Union - the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination has been passed. After the presentation of the bill, a number of objections have been made by traditional churches and religious communities. Consequently, on March 4, the bill was withdrawn for final changes. Media frenzy went on for about 20 days, however, the Parliament passed the law on March 26, with 127 (out of 250) members voting "for" it. Even though Serbian citizens think it important for Serbia to be put on the white Schengen list (87% of them), and the alignment of Serbian legislation with that of the European Union is a necessary requirement for its joining the EU, it can by no means be said that everything went smoothly, without any protestations or reexaminations of the question-at what price should we join the EU? A Long Road to the Law The bill on the prohibition of discrimination was written by experts from the non-governmental, civil and academic fields, with the support from the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), also with the aid from the European Commission's delegation in Belgrade. In December 2007, the Venice Commission of the European Council gave a very favourable opinion on the draft of this law, with the public debates taking place throughout November and December 2008 in a number of Serbian cities. The European Commission's report for 2008 confirmed an existing widespread discrimination. Traditional churches and religious communities have stressed, making their objections to the bill, that they have not been invited to a public debate. Their announcement states that the controversial bill guarantees the right to one's freedom to publicly express one's sexual orientation, however, it is stated, a thing like that does not exist in any of the international accords on the prohibition of discrimination, in any of the European directives, or in any relevant European or world legislations. Boris Milićević, the president of GSA (the Gay-Straight Alliance), finds that traditional churches and religious communities have had a chance to participate in open debates but have been evading them - "precisely because they don't accept counter-arguments. Alongside right wing organizations, they are essentially against the concept of equality for all citizens". In the afore-mentioned announcement traditional churches and religious communities have dissociated themselves from any political parties. After the withdrawal of the bill the GSA has proclaimed appeals from 91 non-governmental organizations demanding that the law be reinstated and passed in its original form. "Everyone, including the European Union, the Council of Europe, the United Nations and the European Commission, have explicitly demanded that Serbia should pass a comprehensive anti-discrimination law at the shortest possible time, especially mentioning the Roma people, ethnic minorities, small religious communities, the disabled and the LGBT population (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people) as groups which must be protected by this law", explains Boris Milićević for Wave magazine. One of the amendments suggested by traditional churches and religious communities has been to delete the part which says - "everyone has the right to freely declare their sexual orientation". They explain that the sexual orientation in itself is not an affront to moral or religious convictions, but its public declaration is. It is also stated that the freedom to declare one's sexual orientation is not a guarantee of freedom itself. What is interesting is that they do not talk about homosexual or "different" orientation in their announcement, but about sexual orientation in general. A specialist in clinical psychology, Miroslava Vuković, who works as a counsellor for sexual orientation at the Student Policlinic in Belgrade, explains for Wave magazine that "Church and science have different positions regarding numerous issues not just homosexuality, however, they are particularly dissimilar when it comes to sexuality and people's sexual behaviour". Church's position refers to the prohibition of pre-marital and extra-marital sexual activity, birth control, abortion and so on. According to the Census conducted by the Serbian Institute for Statistics in 2002, as much as 7,123,611 out of 7,498,001 enlisted citizens declared themselves as believers. The question is whether they really abide by sexual abstinence and other positions of the church. On the other hand, 60% of citizens think that Church is right to condemn homosexuality (according to CeSID's polls dating from February and March 2008). Public or Secret Orientation Experts - psychologists and psychiatrists differ on the question of the adequacy of the word "orientation" when used in a noun phrase sexual orientation. Undoubtedly, there are those who consider homosexuality a disorder in the sex drive, and as much as 70% of Serbian citizens think it a disease (according to CeSID's polls). A cause for such a position may be in the fact that the announcement, denying the opinion that homosexuality is a disease, has appeared only recently: "In 2008, the Serbian Medical Society, at the initiative from Labris - an organization which deals with human rights for the lesbians, issued an announcement in confirmation of this expert opinion", says Miroslava Vuković. In addition, Boris Milićević reminds that "homosexuality in Serbia is decriminalized (1994) and depathologized (simultaneously as the World Health Organization, 1990)", even before Serbia has begun the process of integration into the EU. Polls conducted by CeSID also show that people would not want to be related to a homosexual person, would not want to socialize with such a person, would not want such a person to have a managerial position in the state or be their superior at work. As much as 75% of examinees would not want a homosexual person to teach their children. It seems that there hardly is a parent who would not mind if their child declared himself an LGBT person. When it comes to the number of homosexually oriented people in Serbia today - there are no reliable data, with the estimates ranging from 5 to 35%. "According to some estimates given by NGOs which deal with the rights of non-heterosexual people, there are between 600 and 700 thousand homosexuals in Serbia. According to a very comprehensive research on health behaviour of high school and university students (a sample of 5,385 students of both genders, from every university centre in Serbia), with the participation of our institution as well, in 2000, there were 76,08% of heterosexually oriented, 1,21% of homosexually oriented, 4,03% of bisexually oriented students and 9,17% of them stated they were unsure about their sexual orientation", says Miroslava Vuković. On the Way towards the White Schengen The whole story about the anti-discrimination law has occurred pretty fast. The final version, which has been passed in the end, states that the actions by ministers and other religious officials, in line with their convictions and laws, would not be considered discriminatory. The position regarding transsexuals has been deleted and finally, article 21, which has caused most controversy, now states: "Sexual orientation is a private matter and no one may be asked to publicly declare their sexual orientation. Everyone has the right to freely declare their sexual orientation, and discrimination against such declaration is prohibited". Fines envisaged by this law go from 5,000 to 100,000 RSD. The effects and the amount of satisfaction in people with the law are yet to be seen when this legal decision is put into practice and use. Taking into consideration that, in the end, the law has been passed, thus clearing the way towards the white Schengen; one can assume that Serbia is one step closer to the EU, not only when the legislative body is considered but people's consciousness about who they are, where they are and where they are going as well. (Published: 10.04.2009.)

Being a European

European Young Journalist Award, EYJA 2009 - Final Conference

Being a European

"I watched the inauguration of Barrack Obama. That is a creative nation with a strong will. The remaining nations namely China, Russia, India are developing. They are not waiting for Europeans. Time is not on our side, we must speed up" - Dr Jochen Thies


By MILENA STOŠIĆfrom Berlin, GERMANY
(EYJA winner in Serbia)


The final conference for the continental European competition - European Young Journalist Award 2009, which this year is held under the motto, "Enlarge your vision", brought together national winners from 28 European nations in Berlin, from August 29 until September 2. This competition, organized for the second year in a row by the European Commission, the European on-line magazine Café Babel and the organization of young journalists European Youth Press lasted until the May 31, and after that the judges selected the best articles from every country, published in the former period, on the theme of the enlarging and the future of the European Union.

Being in the capital city of Germany, for the young journalists, had an educational and touristic character representing one unforgettable experience. Visits to the German historical museum and the National parliament were organized, there was an opportunity to meet with the representatives of the European comission and associates from the media, as well as an opportunity to get to know the city and its history, on the twentieth anniversary from the fall of the Berlin wall. For the duration of this short award visit, on the September 1st, a series of workshops and the final meeting for the young journalists was held, their older associates, as well as the the representatives of national judges, where many questions of crucial importance for Europe and the expansion of the EU were discussed. All of that exactly on the day when Germany has started the World War II by attacking Poland, and in the year of marking two decades since the fall of the Iron Curtain, as well as five years since the last circle of EU enlargement.

Where does the EU begin and where does the EU end?

Exactly on that symbolic meaning were called upon Matthias Petschke, Head of the Representation of the European Comission in Germany and Gisela Gauggel-Robinson, Head of the Communication Unit, European Comission, DG Enlargement, who opened the final conference with their speeches.

The keynote speech was held by Professor Dr.Dr h.c. Werner Weidenfeld, Director of C.A.P and Professor for Political Science at LMU Munich looking back on the fall of the Iron Curtain, and opening up the question of the future and the difficulty with a single European identity. As the current most pressing problem, Professor Weidenfeld, stated that it is the non-transparancy of the European legislature: "If one is reading some text, for example the The Treaty of Lisbon, one can see how difficult it is to understand." He also stated that European integrations should be more transparent, that security must be strengthened, especially underlining the neccessity of the strategic partnership (with UN, China, India, Rusia...) - "Europe must develop as a strategic community."

Throughout the conference two panel discussions were also held. The first had for its theme, again in the spirit of the 20 years since the fall of the Iron Curtain, the question - has the integration of the Central and Southern European nations in the EU changed the face of the Old continent and in what way?

"Identity can be a main problem. Where does the EU begin and where does it end?" began the discussion Karl de Meyer - Les Echoes, France. Dr Jochen Thies - Deutschlandradio, Germany added to that the importance of the question of security and that of a defensive identity. He stated that Europe must develop a defensive identity and a European army: "The Economic Crisis has shed light on the European deficits. In the next 10 years this will be of significant importance."

The participants in this panel discussion - Dr. des.Andrea Despot, Seminar Director of the European Academy Berlin, already mentioned Karl de Meyer and Dr Jochen Thies, and Piotr Jendroszczyk - Rzeczpospolita tbc, Poland, concluded that within the EU and the politics of expansion there is still disagreement, beginning with the creation of a single army, to the problems of economic nature and the position of the older EU member states that frequently take their membership for granted, to the instability of the Balkan region and the impact of the remaining continents.

"If the Iron Curtain no longer exists materially, that does not mean that Europe is united and that there are no problems. As well, it is important to promote qualities like solidarity. There exists a desire from Eastern European towards greater understanding from the West," explained Piotr Jendroszczyk. Besides that he also expressed sorrow mainly for the reason that the EU did not manage to stop the war battles of the Balkans.

When the word is about the influence of the remaining world powers and the future tendencies Dr Jochen Thies believes that USA will be the leading country: "I watched the inauguration of Barrack Obama. That is a creative nation with a strong will. The remaining nations namely China, Russia, India are developing. They are not waiting for Europeans. Time is not on our side, we must speed up. The locomotive needs steam." He turned on the attention of the status of Turkey, who has been a candidate for EU membership over the last ten years, and on the opening question to what extent is this country genuinely similar to the remainder of Europe: "Can Turkey really be the bridge towards the Middle East? I really do not see it", he said. The question of Turkey's prospects in relation to the EU was discussed in detail on one of the two workshops that were held concurrently.

Does the wind of change still blow?

The second workshop dealt with the European prospects in relation to the Western Balkans - a political and technical term developed to include six countries of the former Yugoslavia and Albania. This seminar was led by the representatives of the Serbian and Croatian Embassies in Berlin - Milan Gojković and Silvio Kus, as well as Professor Miroljub Radojković from Belgrade Faculty of Political Sciences. Taking into consideration the instability of this region and the numerous problems - economic, then unfinished democratic, the large risk of the corruption of the political elite, the belittling of the governmental laws and the frequent misuse of multi-ethnicity, tradition and religion, Professor Radojković opened the discussion with the question if the wind of change still blows.

During the workshop it was confirmed that with diverse well reasoned arguments (security and economic reasons, the strengthening of the reform processes, securing the political base for the development of the society, the civilization of the region and the promotion of the EU values, opening perspectives for the younger generations...), what is the two-sided benefit of the inclusion of the countries from the Western Balkans in the European Union. Croatia seems as the closest to the final goal in this process, and Serbia would either way have benefit from Croatia's inclusion in the EU, contrary to large disagreement in the past.

As Silvio Kus stated, in Croatia the traditional system had to undergoe numerous changes in order to accept aqui communitaire: "We still have to lower the number of courts in Croatia and we have to co-operate with the Hauge tribunal. A lot still has to be done on the support for the public." As far as Serbia, Montenegro (potential candidates) and Macedonia (candidate for EU membership) are concerned, these countries will be on the White Schengen list from January the following year, which is a huge step forward.

"We in Serbia support the elimination of visas for Bosnia and Hercegovina and Albania, as well," stated Professor Radojković. It seems that the participants of the workshop were most interested in the status of Kosovo and the relation of Serbia with the one-sided proclamation of independence. Milan Gojković offered the official standing of the government as a speech on this question, stating that Serbia insisted on that, that Kosovo in relation to international laws is a part of Serbia and that independence is unacceptable. "A lot of international emotion is tied to Kosovo," he added. Unfortunately, the time limit did not allow a longer and more in-depth discussion on this theme, but one general optimistic perspective of this region could be concluded, as well as the strong tendency that it can part with the unproductive stagnation in the past.

Is there life after death?

During the final phase of the conference, the second panel discussion was held under the title The Enlarging of the EU and the Future Perspectives, on which the representatives of the media participated - Ljubica Gojgić (B92, Serbia), Leyla Tavsanoglu (Cumhuriyet, Turkey) and Željko Ivanović (Vijesti, Montenegro) and the moderator Dr Dušan Reljić (Senior Research Associate, EU Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, German Insititute for International and Security Affairs), who began the discussion with the question - Is there life after death? - addressing the EU.

"The European Union is the best thing that happened to Europe. Without the EU stability is possible, but the EU is the best solution for us. It is worth the invested energy into this project," stated Ljubica Gojgić. She also noticed the similarities between Belgrade and Berlin mentioning that the next year is the fall of another wall - the wall of sanctions in Serbia that has stood strongly over the last 20 years. On this panel discussion for the very first time during the day was the interest of the US in this area mentioned, on which Ljubica Gojgić and Željko Ivanović debated. They underlined that the USA has a strong interest in the continued conflict and that it is actually Washington that is the main master of the conflict.

When the word is about the Balkans, Ljubica Gojgić concluded with sorrow that Europe did not greatly bring stability to the Balkan region. The panel also dealt with the relationship between the media and the political themes and democracy. "The media is very important for national and international relations. That is why the independence of the media is very important," pointed out Leyla Tavsanoglu, adding that a country that does not have independent and free media cannot be called a democracy, and she criticized the state of Turkey in this context.

EU is not Europe, EU is Only a Part of It

During the day an interesting question was presented by Christian De Bruyne, European Commission Representation and Member of Belgium National Jury, addressing those present coming from countries of non-EU states, more specifically towards Serbs. The question was posed - Do you feel like Europeans? Do you present yourselves as Europeans? After that followed the thinking what has precedence, being European or a representative of some nation. The question provoked more answers which poured into one - of course we feel like Europeans! Because Serbia is a part of Europe. Also like one of the present mentioned that EU is not Europe, EU is only a part of it. As Professor Weidenfeld stated at the beginning of the day in his speech: "It is important how one feels." For example, he mentioned that Serbs (!) can feel more European, than Bulgarians who are already in the EU.

The conference ended in the late evening hours, and after that same night the winners were awarded certificates with the logo of the European Young Journalists Award with the signature of the Commissioner for the Enlargement of the EU, Olli Rehn.


(Published on INTERNATIONAL YOUTH WEB MAGAZINE WAVE www.wavemagazine.net: 12.09.2009.)

Publication of European houses

Link to publication of European houses

by Milena Stošić