The President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Dragan Maršicanin, together with Deputies Nada Kolundzija, President of the Committee on Foreign Relations, and Dejan Mihajlov, member of the Legislative Committee, held talks at the Assembly today with the Council of Europe representatives Hans Peter Fuhrer, special envoy of the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe for Yugoslavia and Marc Schoyer, director of the Political Council of the Council of Europe.

The representative of the Council of Europe communicated the Council's desire for Yugoslavia to be integrated into the Council as a member, but also noted that there were certain conditions to be met beforehand. These include changes to the Constitution, reforms of the legislative system and the judiciary, and legal ordering of broadcasting standards and the media, as well as of local government.

The President of the Assembly said that it was also our wish to become a full member of the Council of Europe, that is, to fulfil as soon as possible the conditions for membership, and that a modern system of laws in the most important fields of life was in our best interests.
He added that the support and assistance by the Council of Europe were very important in achieving this aim.

Expressing hope that the formal conditions for membership to the Council would be met as soon as next year, the President acquainted the visiting delegation with the time-scale of the work on new legislation. A number of draft Acts have entered Assembly procedure, among them the Labour Act and acts regulating the judiciary; a number are currently undergoing public debate, and a number are still being drafted.The visitors were informed of certain improvements in the National Assembly's law-passing procedure. It was added, however, that the overall pace of legislative reforms was not satisfactory.

When asked about the possibilities of regulating cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, the Deputies were of the opinion that it was necessary to regulate the matter at the Federal level, and that the international community should view this issue with more patience and understanding for the political situation in Yugoslavia. The talks also dealt with the coming elections in Kosovo and Metohija.