At the sitting held on 9 November, the members of the Defence and Internal Affairs Committee considered the Bill on the Confirmation of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden on Cooperation in the Area of Law Implementation, Bill on the Confirmation of the Agreement amending the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Kingdom of Spain on Reciprocal Recognition and Exchange of National Driving Licences, Bill on the Confirmation of the Agreement between the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Serbia and the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation on Cooperation and Joint Actions, Bill on the Confirmation of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Republic of Slovenia on Cooperation in the Area of Protection against Natural and Other Disasters, Bill on the Confirmation of the Police Cooperation Agreement between the Republic of Serbia and the Kingdom of Belgium, Bill on the Confirmation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the State of Israel on Military, Defence and Defence Industry Cooperation and the Bill on the Confirmation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Republic of Greece on Cooperation within the Athens Multinational Sealift Coordination Center (AMSCC).
The Bill on the Confirmation of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden on Cooperation in the Area of Law Implementation was presented by acting secretary of the Ministry of the Interior Milica Catic who said that the Agreement was signed on 24 January 2017 in Stockholm. The confirmation of the Agreement will allow its implementation which will in turn strengthen and further police cooperation with the Kingdom of Sweden in the area of crime prevention especially organized and serious crime, terrorism, dealing in narcotics, illegal arms dealings, illegal migration and cross-border human smuggling.
Milica Catic also presented the Bill on the Confirmation of the Agreement amending the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Kingdom of Spain on Reciprocal Recognition and Exchange of National Driving Licences saying that its implementation is in the interest of Serbian citizens staying in the Kingdom of Spain and allows them to get a Spanish driving licence in a timely manner and with no extra cost. Since the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Kingdom of Spain on Reciprocal Recognition and Exchange of National Driving Licences allows for a provisional implementation, it was suggested that the present Agreement receive the same as this would expedite the exchange of a valid national driving licence for Serbian citizens in the Kingdom of Spain for a Spanish one.
Milica Catic went on to inform the Committee members about the Bill on the Confirmation of the Agreement between the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Serbia and the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation on Cooperation and Joint Actions, signed in 23 May 2017 in Moscow. The two sides signed the Agreement once their cooperation had reached a level where a bilateral document was needed to regulate it and define the framework of said cooperation. Its ratification by the National Assembly will allow it to come into force.
The representative of the Ministry of the Interior proceeded to present the Bill on the Confirmation of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Republic of Slovenia on Cooperation in the Area of Protection against Natural and Other Disasters, signed in Ljubljana on 20 February 2015. The Agreement was signed as both sides were willing to cooperate directly in the protection against natural and other disasters through their relevant authorities, as well as improve said cooperation and frame it in an international contract.
Milica Catic also presented the Bill on the Confirmation of the Police Cooperation Agreement between the Republic of Serbia and the Kingdom of Belgium, signed on 7 February 2017 in Belgrade. The ratification will allow its implementation which will in turn strengthen and further police cooperation with the Kingdom of Belgium in the area of crime prevention and suppression especially organized and serious crime, terrorism, dealing in narcotics, illegal arms dealings, illegal migration and cross-border human smuggling. She stressed that the bilateral cooperation between the Republic of Serbia and the Kingdom of Belgium is successful as evidenced by the fact that Belgrade and Brussels have in the course of 2017 exchanged 425 pieces of information via Interpol.
The Bill on the Confirmation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the State of Israel on Military, Defence and Defence Industry Cooperation was presented by the State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence Aleksandar Zivkovic who said that the main purpose of the Memorandum is to formalize the military, defence and defence industry cooperation among the 10 signatories and their relevant authorities, and enable them all to reap the benefits of joint projects.
Aleksandar Zivkovic also presented the Bill on the Confirmation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Republic of Greece on Cooperation within the Athens Multinational Sealift Coordination Center (AMSCC) saying that the Memorandum aims to provide the services of the Athens Multinational Sealift Coordination Center to the Republic of Serbia to resolve the problems and lack of capacities needed for strategic transport with a special focus on those coming from the need for a speedy deployment of forces in operations headed by the European Union or other international institutions under the mandate of the United Nations.
Following a joint debate on all seven bills the Committee members decided, by majority decision, to propose that the National Assembly accept them, and appointed Committee Chairperson Marija Obradovic its rapporteur.
The Committee went on to consider the OSCE Mission to Serbia Democratisation Department initiative to organize regional parliamentary conference on “Emergency Management – responses at the national level and regional cooperation” in Belgrade, 7-8 December 2017. The objective of the conference is to raise awareness on disaster risk management in the region, and provide the forum where parliamentarians from Bulgaria, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania and Slovenia can exchange experiences and opinions.
Under any other business, Committee Chairperson Marija Obradovic informed the Committee members that National Assembly Speaker Maja Gojkovic had received an invitation from the Speaker of the Russian Duma to take part in the parliamentary conference in Moscow “Parliamentarians Against Narcotics”, on 4 December 2017. Since the National Assembly Speaker is unable to attend she proposed that the National Assembly be represented by National Assembly Deputy Speaker Djordje Milicevic, and the Defence and Internal Affairs Committee by Marko Djurisic, Dubravka Filipovski and Vladimir Djukanovic
The sitting was chaired by Committee Chairperson Marija Obradovic, and was attended by the following Committee members and deputy members: Ivana Stojiljkovic, Zoran Radojicic, Borisav Kovacevic, Dr Vesna Rakonjac, Stefana Miladinovic, Vladan Zagradjanin, Dubravka Filipovski, Jasmina Obradovic and Aleksandar Markovic.
