Today saw the official opening of the National Assembly’s Legislation Harmonisation Division, a body charged with harmonising laws and regulations with EU standards and Council of Europe recommendations. The office, which is to employ experts in EU law, was opened by the Chairman of the National Assembly, Predrag Markovic, and the head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, Maurizio Massari; the ceremony was also attended by officials of the Italian and Czech embassies, deputies, and journalists.

Mr Markovic expressed his thanks to all those who helped the National Assembly form the Division, and above all the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, which has been continuously co-operating with the National Assembly to implement projects aimed at improving capacities of Assembly services. Praise was also due, said Mr Markovic, to the Senate of the Republic of Italy and the Government of the Czech Republic, who provided financial assistance for setting up the Legislation Harmonisation Division. ‘We expect that the Division will stack its bookshelves with new regulations, that we will continue parliamentary co-operation, and that the Division will co-operate with other Assembly Committees, parliaments of European nations, and the European Movement in Serbia. European integration is an obligation whose accomplishment starts in the parliament – the National Assembly was positively assessed for this by the European Union – but laws also have to be implemented. The National Assembly has adopted a large number of laws, and many of them come into effect as early as 1 January 2006. These laws provide for true decentralisation of power in Serbia, as a large number of obligations and responsibilities have been delegated from the Republic to the local level, which is why the Chairman of the National Assembly has again written to presidents of all municipalities across Serbia to draw their attention to the powers, and responsibilities, they could expect in the future. This is a moment for all in power to do their jobs, for European integration, but also to strengthen the Serbian state, and not spread their partisan prejudices’, Mr Markovic concluded. He said that this was only a technical precondition for European integration, but that Serbia would still prove a good partner in the process. ‘Institutions have faces, and, over the past several years, the OSCE Mission in Serbia has been personified by Mr Massari’, Mr Markovic concluded.

The Legislation Harmonisation Division of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia will deal with harmonising legislation and other issues relating to European integrations. The Division will co-operate closely with the European Integrations Committee, and its services will also be available to other Assembly Committees as well as to all individual deputies. The Division’s aim is to provide a service that will employ experts in EU law, and other fields of importance to European integrations, who will be able to consider each Bill and amendment from the point of view of its adherence to EU legislation.