PACE rapporteurs Indrek Saar and Davit Harutyunyan are visiting Belgrade so as to gain direct insight into Serbia’s fulfillment of the obligations resulting from its membership in the Council of Europe.

Rapporteur Davit Harutyunyan said that, from the beginning of November, he would complete a report on Serbia’s results in the previous period and on whether the conditions have been met to move from the monitoring stage into the post-monitoring stage in the evaluation of the fulfillment of the undertaken obligations. The PACE Monitoring Committee will vote on the report in January next year.

Among other things, the PACE rapporteurs wanted to know whether a central electoral commission would be created before the next elections, how the Law on Financing Political Activities would be implemented and whether the Serbian Constitution would be amended.

The Head of the National Assembly’s Standing Delegation to the PACE Prof. Dr Dragoljub Micunovic briefed the rapporteurs on the amendments to the Law on Election of Deputies which abolished blank resignations preserving the constitutional tenet that the mandates belong to the members of parliament. Amendments the Constitution is a complicated process, said Micunovic which requires a three-quarter majority at the National Assembly and a referendum. The new Law on Financing Political Activities will enable control over the expenditure of budget funds financing political activities and prevent the influence of the powers that be on political life, said the Serbian delegation Head.

Member of the standing delegation, Head of the Forward Serbia Parliamentary Group Tomislav Nikolic opined that most of the laws passed by the National Assembly have been rushed and passed by agreement between the Government and ruling coalition disregarding the opposition’s views. He also said that the opposition parties have no room in the media to voice their views.

Nikolic opined that the Republic Electoral Commission elected by the National Assembly remains an acceptable solution for the upcoming election.

Delegation member Natasa Vuckovic pointed out that the Government adopts those amendments proposed by opposition parties which it deems acceptable and which improve the text of a bill, while Elvira Kovacs stressed that the amendments to the electoral legislation did not fully comply with gender equality.

The PACE rapporteurs also met with the representatives of the ruling coalition Nada Kolundzija, Branko Ruzic, Zeljko Ivanji, Elvira Kovacs and Momo Colakovic. They mainly focused on the working conditions of the opposition at the National Assembly, mainly its legislative work.

Head of the For European Serbia Parliamentary Group Nada Kolundzija declared that the opposition is in the same position as the ruling majority at the National Assembly because its representation at the working bodies is proportional to the number of mandates, and the Rules of Procedure allow for several possibilities to launch initiatives and parliamentary questions. The fact that a large number of adopted amendments to the Bills come from the opposition proves this.

At the opposition’s objections that its access to the media has been hindered, she said that National Assembly Sessions are broadcast live and that the Law on the National Assembly and Rules of Procedure envisage and ensure better working conditions.

Responding to the rapporteurs’ objections that a large number of laws have been adopted by urgent procedure, the representatives of the ruling coalition stated that the Government is almost the only submitter of laws. Therefore they strive to keep the application of the institute an exception rather than the rule. They said that they have managed to transfer about 40% of laws submitted under urgent procedure into regular procedure. The officials also discussed the situation in the media and the need to regulate media space.

The meeting between the representatives of the opposition at the National Assembly Milos Aligrudic and Dragan Todorovic and the Monitoring Committee rapporteurs focused on corruption, media, financing political parties, the electoral system and parliamentary life in Serbia. Aligrudic deemed that it would not be possible to suppress corruption until the problems in the judiciary are resolved. There have been no thorough changes in the area, but the fact that charges had been filed against some persons suspected of corruption is encouraging. Regarding the media, he said that they are to a great extent under the influence of the ruling coalition and also suffer from corruption. Aligrudic said that parliamentary life still lacks real dialogue and that the National Assembly has no agenda so the MPs have no way of knowing before hand when certain acts would be in procedure.

Addressing some of the questions asked, Dragan Todorovic pointed out the difficulties the opposition MPs at the National Assembly face when launching certain issues such as those concerning corruption affairs and that it was obvious that these affairs included men from the government. Speaking of the elections, he deemed that all the elections so far have been abused by the governing majority and that Serbia is the only state that does not have a uniform voters’ list.

Todorovic also pointed out the abuse in the media which allows almost no room for the opposition and its views.

In separate meetings the PACE rapporteurs also spoke the MPs of the Minorities’ Parliamentary Group Riza Halimi and Esad Dzudzevic.

MP Riza Halimi spoke to the rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe about the work of the Serbian Government’s Coordinating Body for the Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, the problems of integrating Albanians into state institutions, the use of official language in the judiciary, as well as the conditions for the return of the population to the south of Serbia. Halimi concluded that it was necessary to spur economic development of this part of Serbia, prevent the further exodus and stimulate the return of the displaced families. The MP also informed all present that according to the estimate of the local government the municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja lack the proper conditions for the upcoming 2011 Census.

MP Esad Dzudzevic briefed all present on the difficulties in the work of the Bosniak ethnic minority’s National Council. MP Dzudzevic presented the delegation members copies of his book stressing that in the last 20 years he has dealt with the rights of the Bosniak community. Dzudzevic added that the book was the result of his work and analyses of the exercise of the rights of Sandzak Bosniaks in Serbia.