At the sitting held on 7 April, the Culture and Information Committee considered, in principle, several Bills on the agenda for the Second Sitting of the First Regular Session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia this year.

The Committee considered, in principle and on the particulars, the Bill amending and modifying the Law on Commemoration of Day of Mourning. Elaborating the modifications, Minister of Culture Nebojsa Bradic stressed that it introduces an obligation for the Republic Broadcasting Agency to monitor the work of its broadcasters in cases of non-compliance with the provisions of the Law on Commemoration of Day of Mourning in Serbia.

The Committee endorsed the Bill in principle and rejected two amendments submitted by deputy Dusan Maric and a group of deputies of the Forward Serbia Deputy Group.

Regarding the Proposal of the Decision on Proclaiming the Old and Rare Book of Extreme Importance, drafted by the National Library of Serbia, Minister Bradic stressed that the fund would become richer by 321 books and said that the decision needed to be revised in shorter time periods.

The Committee accepted the Decision Proposal in principle, and then discussed the Bill on the Confirmation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. On the occasion it was deemed necessary to pass a law on the protection of cultural heritage in Serbia as soon as possible.

The Committee also endorsed the Bill on the Confirmation of the Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society, in principle.

The Bill on the Confirmation of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Republic of Italy on cooperation in the fields of culture and education was elaborated by a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Committee unanimously endorsed it in principle.

The sitting was chaired by Vesna Marjanovic, Committee Chairperson.