​On 24 November, the city of Novi Sad, second largest city in Serbia and capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, hosted the 3rd meeting of the CoR-Serbia Joint Consultative Committee (JCC).

During the meeting, CoR members, as well as representatives of Serbian sub-national authorities, Serbian government, civil sector and the EU delegation in Serbia had an opportunity to discuss the role of Serbian local and regional authorities in the country's EU accession process and get a thorough insight into how national minorities in the country exercise their rights at the sub-national levels of government.

During this very interesting meeting, Mr Tadeusz Truskolaski, Mayor of Białystok (Poland) and EA group member in the JCC, offered an inspiring overview of how EU membership and especially the use of EU cohesion funds helped transition Białystok from one of the poorest regions in Poland to an evolving cultural and economic centre with developing transport, business and cultural infrastructure. Mr Truskolaski also stressed that his experience as a mayor in such a region could be useful for many local authorities in Serbia and offered his help and full support to his Balkan counterparts on their road to the EU.