Minister of Defence Bratislav Gasic presented the activities of the Ministry of Defence in said period in the spheres of international and bilateral cooperation, management of human resources and improvement of the Serbian Military’s operative capabilities. Presenting the Activity Information, Minister Gasic said that the pensions of retired military personnel which had not been adjusted in accordance with the law in 2008 would be raised by 11.06%, and that they will receive a retroactive payment as a lump sum, the total debt owed them being 24 billion RSD. Gasic added that, out of the 57 billion RSD allocated to it in the 2015 budget, the sector had spent about 35 billion, or 65%. The Minister also said that in the course of the year it would resolve the housing issues of 963 members of the Serbian Armed Forces, and that additional 70 apartments would also be secured by the end of the year.

In the course of the discussion the Committee members had questions about some of the segments of the presented Activity Information, as well as other related topics. During the several-hour long discussion, the Committee members’ questions were duly answered by Minister of Defence Bratislav Gasic, Chief of General Staff General Ljubisa Dikovic and State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence Zoran Djordjevic.

After the discussion the Committee members adopted the Ministry of Defence Activity Information for the period July-September 2015.

In the course of the sitting the Committee members and the Minister of Defence also commended the decision to deny Kosovo’s UNESCO bid.

The sitting was chaired by Committee Chairperson Marija Obradovic.