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Human rights

Human rights are protected by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. These include freedom from discrimination, protection of personal data, and access to justice. Every citizen is entitled to these rights equally.

Rule of law

The EU is based on the rule of law. Everything it does is founded on treaties voluntarily and democratically agreed by its member states. Law and justice are upheld by an independent judiciary, with the European Court of Justice as the final authority — its judgments are binding on all member states.

Equality

Equality ensures that all citizens are treated the same before the law. It includes gender equality and equal opportunities in every area of life. This principle has guided European integration since the Treaty of Rome.

Democracy

The EU is built on representative democracy. Citizens have the right to vote and stand in elections for the European Parliament, whether in their country of origin or residence. Political participation is a cornerstone of European citizenship.

Freedom

Freedom means the right to move, live, and work across the Union. It also safeguards personal liberties such as privacy, belief, assembly, and expression. These freedoms are guaranteed by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Human dignity

Human dignity is the foundation of European society. It is inviolable and must always be respected and protected. All fundamental rights stem from this principle.

Svetlana Đukić

Svetlana Đukić is a senior international development, civil society and democratic governance expert with more than 30 years of professional experience designing and managing European Union support programmes that strengthen civil society, democratic institutions and public participation across the Western Balkans. She has built an extensive career spanning the European Commission, international organisations and civil society, becoming one of the region’s leading experts on civil society development, enabling environment reforms and EU-funded assistance. Her expertise encompasses programme design and management, grant schemes, policy dialogue, institutional development, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation, strategic communications, and the implementation of complex EU-funded programmes in line with PRAG and EU enlargement priorities. While working at the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia and previously at the European Agency for Reconstruction, she designed and managed some of the European Union’s flagship civil society and media support programmes, overseeing portfolios exceeding EUR 80 million and supporting reforms in governance, rule of law, human rights, media freedom and citizen participation. She has successfully led multi-stakeholder policy dialogue involving governments, public institutions, civil society organisations, media and international partners, helping shape more enabling environments for civil society and democratic participation.

As Team Leader of the EU Civil Resilience Mechanism (EU CRM) Phase II, she brings outstanding strategic leadership, extensive knowledge of EU assistance instruments and a long-standing commitment to strengthening resilient, accountable and impactful civil society organisations throughout the region.