​On June 26, the city of Novi Sad, capital of Serbia's northern Vojvodina province was host to the 13th meeting of the Committee of the Region's Working Group on the Western Balkans. The meeting gathered CoR members and representatives of Serbian local authorities and civil society who discussed the impact of forthcoming Serbia's EU accession talks on local and regional authorities, decentralisation process, and the role of local and regional authorities in the promotion of respect for human rights and the protection of minorities.

The meeting took place in a very important moment for Serbia's EU accession process, just two days before the European summit's decision to approve the start of accession negotiations with the country. During the meeting, speakers expressed their hopes that relations between EU and Serbian local authorities will soon rise to the next level with the creation of a Joint Consultative Committee within the Committee of the Regions. The EA group representative at the meeting was CllR Brian Meaney.