At the sitting held on 7 November, the Culture and Information Committee considered the Information on the legislative activities of the Ministry of Culture and conducted the election of a new Committee Chairman.

The sitting was chaired by the Committee Chairman, Slobodan Gavrilovic and attended by Novica Antic, State Secretary at the Ministry of Culture and Dusan Janjic, Assistant Minister.

State Secretary Novica Antic briefed the Committee members on the work on legislative projects in the field of culture. He pointed out that a comprehensive public debate on the Draft Culture Bill had just been concluded. The cultural public accepted the Draft Bill giving it a positive evaluation along with certain remarks that the Ministry accepted and that will be included into the final text of the draft. He added that the draft is expected to be adopted by the Government of the Republic of Serbia by the end of 2007 and the Bill submitted into Assembly procedure. Apart from the Draft Culture Bill, the Ministry of Culture prepared draft bills on cinematography and old and rare library material, while bills on immobile cultural properties, archive materials and the archive service, funds and foundations and museums are in the pre-draft phase. Preparations are being made for the proposal of the confirmation of four conventions, and a regulation on the award of special recognitions to artists for superior contribution to the culture in the Republic of Serbia was also adopted.

Assistant Minister Dusan Janjic informed the Committee members on the privatisation process of the local media and the Ministry’s preparations for the drafting of a Bill on media concentration and the amendments and modifications of the Public information and Broadcasting Act.

During the discussion the Committee members exchanged opinions on the remarks of art associations on the Draft Culture Bill, the issue of protection of the national and cultural identity of national minorities in Serbia and the dynamics of submitting Bills into Assembly procedure.

Subsequently, Slobodan Gavrilovic tendered his resignation to the post of Committee Chairman, and the Committee members unanimously elected Vesna Marjanovic as Committee Chairperson.