Defence and Internal Affairs Committee Chairperson Marija Obradovic said she was pleased to see the beginning of the realisation of the idea of the OSCE Mission to Serbia to, by launching this course, offer special support to the National Assembly to build its capacities concerning its control function over the security system. She thanked the OSCE Mission for the long years of cooperation and support, first to the former Defence and Internal Affairs Committee, and now the committees on defence and internal affairs and security services control. She stressed that the Pilot Course is a new type of training for the MPs, one where, she was sure, the attendees would have the singular opportunity to, through a series of lectures by eminent experts and other types of training, examine the national security system and the National Assembly’s role and place in the system of democratic and civil control over the security sector.

The Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia’s Democratisation Department, Jan Lueneburg, stressed that training MPs and improving their knowledge are a crucial prerequisite for an efficient system of parliamentary oversight over the institutions of the security sector. He mentioned that, in previous years the OSCE Mission to Serbia was one of the National Assembly’s chief international partners in the organisation of seminars aimed at improving the capacities of the MPs and National Assembly Support Service staff for the oversight of the security sector. He said that the Defence and Security Pilot Course would enable insight into the key issues concerning the security sector, adding that he was sure it would contribute to the work of the two committees in charge of defence and security issues. Finally, he said he hoped the Pilot Course would set the grounds for the institution of a more lasting institutional training mechanism for the MPs in the field.

The Head of the Military Academy’s National Defence School, Colonel Miroslav Talijan said that the realisation of the Pilot Course is a definite indicator of the importance the Republic of Serbia, National Assembly and the OSCE Mission to Serbia assign to the society’ goals and tendencies toward the building and functioning of a legal, democratic state, which means additional training for the MPs in the field of security and defence. He thanked the OSCE Mission to Serbia for enabling the Military Academy i.e. the National Defence School and the Advanced Security and Defence Studies, as the bearer of the Pilot Course within the project “Development of MPs’ capacities for the oversight of the security sector”, to show their hospitality and capacities.

The 14-week course will be attended by the members of the Defence and Internal Affairs Committee and the Security Services Control Committee, as well as National Assembly Support Service staff. They will be explained the basics of modern understanding of national and international security, experiences of the National Assembly committees in charge of the security sector and models of parliamentary control and oversight in developed democratic countries and the countries of South-East Europe.

The Pilot Course is co-organised by the National Assembly and OSCE Mission to Serbia, in cooperation with the Military Academy. The course is realised by the Military Academy’s National Defence School.