The public hearing was opened by European Integration Committee Chairman Aleksandar Senic who stressed that it is extremely important to ensure broad availability and use options of information technologies, while protecting the users’ privacy.

European Integration Committee member Dusica Stojkovic said that the European Union’s goal in the area is to ensure affordable services (telephone, fax, Internet access, free emergency calls), and at the same time stimulate market competition. One of EU’s priorities is to bridge the “digital divide” by ensuring equal opportunity access to modern technologies. Dusica Stojkovic pointed out that information society services cover the issues of IT security, electronic government, electronic healthcare, electronic signature and electronic trade.

Olivera Vitorovic of the European Integration Office spoke of the significance and role of information society in Serbia’s EU accession process by presenting the results of the explanatory and bilateral screening within negotiations Chapter 10 – Information Society and Media. Assistant Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications and deputy head of the negotiating group for Chapter 10 Irini Reljin presented the Ministry’s administrative capacities and Digital Agenda for Serbia by 2020 which comprises the Electronic Communications Development Strategy in the Republic of Serbia 2010-2020 and the Information Society Development Strategy in the Republic of Serbia by 2020.

The situation in e-government and the legislative and strategic framework in the area were explained by the Head of the E-Government Directorate Dusan Stojanovic, while the Director of the Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communication and Postal Services (RATEL) Milan Jankovic presented the situation on the electronic communication and postal services market in 2014.

The participants of the public hearing also talked about the national broadband network. European Integration Committee member Dr Vladimir Orlic emphasised the very important place the national broadband network has within negotiations Chapter 10, which is an idea of the establishment of and infrastructural solution to connect all the institutions and bodies.

Besides the MPs, the public hearing was also attended by representatives of the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, European Integration Office, members of the negotiating group for Chapter 10, National Convention, RATEL and the international community and local self-governments.

The public hearing was organised with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), within project Strengthening the Oversight Role and Transparency of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia.