Held in Belgrade on 4-5 October, 2005, the Conference “Serbia – Five Years After” marked the fifth anniversary of democratic change in Serbia. Both domestic and international participants agreed that October 5 was a turning point in the recent history of Serbian society, a day when the citizens of Serbia defended the electoral results of 24 September, 2000, when the authoritarian regime of Slobodan Milosevic was defeated.

The Conference was organized by the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence and the Balkan Trust for Democracy in order to open a broad public discussion on what has been accomplished in the last five years, what opportunities have been missed, and what needs to be done in order to secure a European future for Serbia.

While participants recognized that Serbia has progressed and has changed significantly, it is still, in the words of Serbian President Boris Tadic, “not a sufficiently different country” from before October 5, 2000. Participants said Serbia needs more determination, strategic planning, political will, and courage in solving the most difficult problems that society and the state have faced, including a difficult economic situation, a high degree of unemployment, weak institutions, corruption, a lack of common interest, and solidarity.

Next steps discussed included the need for democratic forces, especially the democratic political parties, to overcome their partisan interests and take advantage of the new opportunity created by the beginning of the negotiation process with the European Union on the Stabilization and Association Agreement. Former Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou said Serbia can change, and “in changing itself, it can change not only its society, but the whole region.”

On the road toward the European Union, and in the course of creating a new European image of Serbia, participants said that Serbia needs to rely on itself and to encourage its substantial, but insufficiently employed human resources. The road toward Europe and the Euro-Atlantic structures is now opening widely. The clear message from the Conference “Serbia – Five Years After” is that, on this road, Serbia can count on and rely on the support of numerous friends from our region, Europe, and the world.

At the Conference and in public discussions that preceded it in towns throughout Serbia, many institutions and individuals took part, including more than 400 non-governmental organizations, universities, educational institutions, trade unions, companies, political parties, local municipalities, ministries, and prominent public figures. The list of distinguished persons from Serbia, Europe, and the world who spoke at the October Conference is impressive and includes Boris Tadic, Predrag Markovic, Miroljub Labus, Vuk Draskovic, Rasim Ljajic, Vladeta Jankovic, Dragoljub Micunovic, Zoran Zivkovic, Goran Svilanovic, Milos Aligrudic, Eduard Kukan, George Papandreou, Stefan Lehne, Stefano Sannino, Marc Scheuer, Dominick Chilcott, Heather Grabbe, Mark Medish, Theodore Winkler, Hans-Peter Furrer, Istvan Gyarmati, Misha Glenny, Theodore Couloumbis, Judy Batt, Pavol Demes, Zarko Puhovski, Remzi Lani, Saso Ordanoski, Josep Lloveras, Mauricio Massari, and Rastislav Vrbensky.