In line with article 200, paragraph 1 of the National Assembly Rules of Procedure, on 28 May, at 4 p.m., the deputies stopped work according to the agenda for the Sixth Sitting of the First Regular Session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia in 2009 and posed various questions to the Government of the Republic of Serbia.

This part of the sitting was attended by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia Mirko Cvetkovic, Deputy Prime Minister Jovan Krkobabic, Minister of Finance Diana Dragutinovic, Minister of the Diaspora Srdjan Sreckovic, Minister of Trade and Services Slobodan Milosavljevic, Minister of Education Zarko Obradovic, Minister of Justice Snezana Malovic, Minister of Human and Minority Rights Svetozar Ciplic, Minister of Infrastructure Milutin Mrkonjic, Minister of Telecommunications and Information Society Jasna Matic, Minister for Kosovo-Metohija Goran Bogdanovic, Minister of Energy and Mining Petar Skundric and Minister without Portfolio Sulejman Ugljanin.

Deputy Vladan Batic asked three questions. The first one was for Minister of Finance Diana Dragutinovic about the realisation of commercial and non-commercial village households’ rights to a subsidy, the second question he asked of the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development i.e. the Privatisation Agency regarding the privatisation of company “Prva Iskra” from Baric, and the third question dealt with solving the landslide problem at Duboko, Corridor 10.

Answering the question, Minister of Finance Diana Dragutinovic stated that the issue of categorisation of households lies within the purview of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management and the Ministry of Finance only deals with the technical side, but that she will request said information and forward the answer at a later date. Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic pointed out that he will forward the question regarding the privatisation of “Prva Iskra” from Baric to the Privatisation Agency, and Minister of Infrastructure Milutin Mrkonjic said that the Humka-Obrenovac section of Highway Belgrade – Cacak – Pozega - Montenegro Coast afflicted by the landslide has been repaired at the cost of 200 million EUR, and the construction of that part will begin nest year.

Deputy Tomislav Nikolic requested information on the customs clearance for goods transported from Serbia to Kosovo-Metohija, asking if the representative of the Republic of Serbia had signed a protocol with EULEX. The second question was about the data on the entire income of directors of public enterprises in Serbia in 2008, and the third was directed at the Minister of the Diaspora: is his statement that Serbia should join NATO the Government’s or his personal position.

Minister for Kosovo-Metohija Goran Bogdanovic stressed that neither the Government not the Ministries for Kosovo-Metohija and Finance had signed any protocol with EULEX, and that the Mission is implementing certain actions without the approval of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, adding that the Government has reacted to the issue condemning it. Minister of the Diaspora Srdjan Sreckovic said that he made said statement as deputy head of the political part he belongs to and not at any official gathering he attended as a Government representative.

Deputy Riza Halimi repeated his question for the Prime Minister and the Minister of Economy and Regional Development as he had not received a reply when he first posed it in March this year, asking about the discrimination in the auction of commercial enterprise “Bratstvo” in Presevo. His second question he directed at Minister of Human and Minority Rights Svetozar Ciplic: when will the Bill on National Minorities' National Councils be forwarded into Assembly procedure, and the third he asked of the Prime Minister and Minister of Labour and Social Policy Rasim Ljajic, as he was not satisfied with the answer he had received, on the realisation of the right to a pension for citizens who had at some period worked on the territory of Kosovo-Metohija.

National Assembly Speaker Prof. Dr Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic said that the comments deputy Halimi made to the received answers will be forwarded to the Government of the Republic of Serbia.

Deputy Srdjan Spasojevic asked three questions. The first was for Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic: why has the project of water supply for Kraljevo been abandoned when the town has problems with water production and water supply capacities. The second question was posed to Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic regarding the plan for the abolition of the consulate in Lyon, when it is a well-known fact that between 25,000 and 30,000 Serbs living in the area use the services of the consulate and the third question he posed to the Prime Minister asking him that competent ministers attend the National Assembly sittings to elaborate the bills being discussed.

The Prime Minister stressed that he personally insists that the bills on the National Assembly’s agenda be elaborated by the competent ministers, but they sometimes happen to be prevented from doing it. Regarding the water supply in Kraljevo, the project was abandoned due to rationalization of funds and decrease of discretionary budget expenditure, but as the data is incomplete, depending on the severity of the situation, an adequate solution shall be sought. Concerning the closure of the consulate in Lyon, the answer shall be supplied by the relevant ministry.

Deputy Ivan Andric asked three questions about the Radio Television of Serbia. Are the Government of the Republic of Serbia and competent ministry interested in the events in the media, primarily in RTS which is financed from the budget and subscription, regarding the manner in which the funds are spent? Why does the Government of the Republic of Serbia do nothing about the RTS’s disregard of the Broadcasting Act and Public Information Law and how is it possible that the media are ignored in Serbia’s Europeisation?

The Prime Minister stressed that the Government is interested in the media, but not in interfering into their editing policy, rather in preserving the independence of the media. Considering that the media are a sensitive subject and that the Government’s reaction raises suspicion that it is attempting to influence the work of the Republic Broadcasting Agency or public service, the Government remains passive, but insists on the observance of all regulations.

Deputy Vladimir Milentijevic asked the Prime Minister at what cost, with what territory and when Serbia will join the European Union and what exactly the Government was doing in the field on preserving Kosovo-Metohija, sustainable survival and return to Kosovo, as well as solving the actual living problems of the people form Kosovo-Metohija.

The Prime Minister stressed that the Government is pro-European, it does not want to give up its sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Government’s goal is to have Serbia join the European Union and has no wish to play guessing games with dates, he added. On the issue of Kosovo-Metohija, the Prime Minister stressed that Serbia is implementing all diplomatic and peaceful means to solve the problem and asked the Minister for Kosovo-Metohija to give a more detailed answer. Minister Goran Bogdanovic pointed out that the Ministry has financed projects across the territory of Kosovo-Metohija, and will continue to do so and listed specific realised projects.

Deputy Milentijevic asked four additional questions: what happened with the six-point agreement Belgrade - Ban Ki-moon; why doesn’t the Prime Minister appeal to the Serbs and non-Albanians in Kosovo-Metohija to abandon the institutions of the self-declared state of Kosovo and will he appeal to the Serbs and non-Albanians in Kosovo-Metohija not to vote in the election called by the institutions of the self-declared state of Kosovo? He asked the Minister of Energy and Mining Petar Skundric why he had allowed the humanitarian catastrophe among the Serbs and non-Albanians south of the river Ibar caused by power cuts and if the Electric Power Industry of Serbia (EPS) had the technical capabilities to cut the Albanians’ power and if so, why it does not.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the realisation of the six-point agreement represents a non-violent struggle to keep Serbia’s sovereignty, adding that the Government is doing all in its power to solve the power supply problem in Kosovo-Metohija, and a more detailed answer shall be supplied by the ministers in charge. Minister of Energy and Mining Petar Skundric said that EPS has done all in its jurisdiction to make sure most of the citizens in Kosovo-Metohija are supplied with power, adding that EPS has built a power transformer station in Zvecan.

Deputy Milentijevic was not satisfied with the answers, so he requested that he be forwarded written answers to all the questions he had asked.

Deputy Marina Ragus asked the Minister of Human and Minority Rights several questions about the protection of the rights of the most endangered social categories. She asked about the amount of funds allocated for the improvement of the living conditions of the Roma population.

Minister Ciplic pointed out that it is impossible to eradicate the many decades of Roma seclusion from the rest of the population in a short time. Regarding the improvement of the position of Roma, the Ministry is working on legalising the existing Roma settlements, those that meet the required conditions, establishing new settlements with living conditions fit for humans, the construction of blocks of flats is to begin in 2010 , and all European countries participating in the realisation of the Decade of Roma will sign a charter according to which they shall work on the improvement of the living conditions of the Roma in Europe from 2015 (when the Decade of Roma ends), considering that Europe was declared the Roma homeland.

Deputy Zika Gojkovic asked the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance if and when a denationalisation and restitution law would be passed, in order to reclaim the property seized from the citizens after World War Two.

Minister of Finance Diana Dragutinovic informed the deputies that a draft law on public property has been prepared and is entering regular Government procedure, and that a denationalisation and restitution law is planned to be adopted by the end of the year.

Deputy Radoslav Mojsilovic handed the Prime Minister documentation and requested a written answer on the public procurement processes in the public enterprises in Vranje, which involve the members of G17 PLUS party and requested an answer to the question if the Government would control public procurement processes better. He also asked what the Government would do to start production in cotton mill “Yumco” from Vranje of which he is a majority owner, and also asked how the Government would protect the citizens of Pcinje district from substantial radiation resulting from the depleted uranium thrown in the NATO bombing.

Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic said that he will request information about the radiation in Pcinje district from the ministry in charge.

Deputy Slobodan Maras invited the governing majority at the National Assembly to propose the formation of a Board of Inquiry to examine the facts of RTS business transactions. He asked the Prime Minister if the Government could influence the price of fuel in Serbia, if the Government had seen the financial statement of the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS) and if NIS realised profit or ran a loss in 2008.

The Prime Minister said that, contrary to expectation, according to the auditor’s report of the company’s majority owner, NIS ran a loss in 2008. He announced that the Government will personally employ an auditor of the same rank because as a minority owner it is within its right to do so. He added that the issue of the Southern Stream had been solved and, despite some doubts, it might even be constructed sooner than expected.

Deputy Jorgovanka Tabakovic asked Prime Minister Cvetkovic who was making the decisions and considering the shareholders’ requests at the Privatisation Agency now that its director Vesna Dzinic had tendered her resignation and all the other persons in charge gone on holiday.

Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic stated that he has no information on the unfavourable state of affairs at the Privatisation Agency. Although he is aware that the Agency director had tendered her resignation, she has a deputy and there are procedures which are implemented in such a case and the Privatisation Agency will function normally.

Deputy Milan Lapcevic asked Minister of Education Zarko Obradovic what had happened to the documentation for the foundation of an agricultural faculty in Nis, and the Minister of Infrastructure Milutin Mrkonjic what was happening with the realization of projects on Corridor 10, when work on the two branches of Corridor 10 he had said would be realized by 2011 would begin and why the two projects in Belgrade, the underground and bridge towards Borca, are projects of national importance and how their construction would be financed.

Minister of Education Zarko Obradovic pointed out that the information that the Ministry of Education had lost the documentation for the opening of an agricultural faculty in Nis is incorrect, but that there had been some technical and crucial problems in its realisation. Minister Mrkonjic repeated that Corridor 10 is Serbia’s biggest developmental opportunity and that it was underway. This year, from its own funds Serbia will build 40 km of highway, 20 km on the Presevo-Lebosoj section will be completed by 7 June this year, 20 km on the Novi Sad section will also be completed this year. The railway junction by Nis is being designed and will be realised next year, as well as the Istok-Dimitrovgrad magisterial railway. Construction of the highway towards Istok, 8.5 km from the Bulgarian border to Dimitrovgrad, has also been planned, and it was announced that 388 million USD from the World Bank will go into it. 600 million EUR from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will be allocated for the section by Grdelica, from Leskovac to Vranje, the design for which will be completed in 15 days. In the issue of the Belgrade bypass project – north part Dobanovci-Batajnica, expropriation for which 115 million USD are secured is still not finished, and it is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Minister Mrkonjic informed the deputies that the Road Company Programme worth 350 million RSD was adopted last week and its realisation begins straightaway. He appealed to the deputies to adopt the two laws on warranties which will repay part of the debt to Serbian road workers.

Deputy Lapcevic asked Prime Minister Cvetkovic an additional question, if the Government had at its sittings discussed the route of the Southern Stream pipeline.

Prime Minister Cvetkovic said that the Government had not discussed the route of the Southern Stream pipeline and had made no decisions on the issue. The route is a commercial matter, not a matter of political decisions and will be defined through a feasibility study, and Serbia will design the branches according to its own commercial principle.

Deputy Milorad Krstin asked Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and Minister of Justice Snezana Malovic about the violation of electoral procedure for the election of the Council of Novi Becej Municipality, Novo Miosevo, held on 24 May this year.

Considering that the time allocated for deputies’ questions had ended, the National Assembly Speaker Prof. Dr Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic informed deputy Milorad Krstin that he shall receive a written answer, as well as that he will have the opportunity to comment on the submitted answer on the last Thursday in June.