2016 Annual Review of Labour Relations and Social Dialogue Serbia DRAGANA PETKOVIC GAJIC February 2017  Serbia held General Elections in April in a calm atmosphere. The ruling party, the Serbian Progressive Party, reaffirmed its position and post-election tensions were eased by the entry of a so-called census opposition in the Parliament. Even though the new Parliament includes parties not supporting Serbia's Accession to the EU, official political leaders confirmed the commitment to the EU accession process. Accordingly, Chapters 23 and 24 of the European Acquis, related to law and justice, were opened for negotiation.  The economic recovery policy, including fiscal consolidation and improvement of the business environment continued. The government’s priorities focused on infrastructure projects, attracting foreign investments, and increasing employment opportunities. The economy recorded growth and low inflation, while the balance of payment deficit was considerably reduced.  Unemployment is persistent, especially among the young, and numerous social problems are present. Workers from former state-owned enterprises that went bankrupt because of mismanaged privatization processes put big pressure on the weak labour market.  The crisis of collective bargaining on the branch level culminated when the Serbian Employers' Association unilaterally cancelled already concluded collective agreements in the sectors of construction, agriculture and chemistry.  Even though the social partners managed to agree on an increase of the minimum hourly wage for 2017 within the Social-Economic Council, social dialogue is still very weak. Trade unions are still not participating in drafting and implementing economic and social policy.