The delegation also included Scottish experts Simon Wakefield, Vince McCartney and Milica Kaburu.
In the course of the meeting, the representatives of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy – Regional Network of Parliamentary Committees on Economy, Finance and European Integration of the Western Balkans briefed the Committee Chairman on their activities, showing interest in possibly opening an Office or organising workshops which could prove useful for the MPs and Committee staff in the performance of their tasks, in view of the expected and extended deadlines and funds secured for such assistance.
They offered expert assistance in the following areas:
- drafting reports (summaries) on SAI reports;
- brief macroeconomic analyses useful for the MPs;
- analyses and brief reports on the key elements of the budget rebalance proposal;
- analyses and brief reports on the Budget Bill (on key questions the MPs might ask during the debate), as well as comments to the proposed fiscal strategy.
Veroljub Arsic opined that it would be in the Committee’s interest to have its members gain full insight into public spending and the legality, justification and appropriateness of budgetary spending. He informed the guests on the Committee’s purview, the relationship between the Committee and the independent state bodies and explained the Budget Law adoption procedure and submission of amendments to it.
The Chairman of the Committee on Finance, State Budget and Control of Public Spending hopes that the cooperation with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy – Regional Network of Parliamentary Committees on Economy, Finance and European Integration of the Western Balkans would be continued and give mutually satisfactory results.
On the same day, Chairman of the Committee on Finance, State Budget and Control of Public Spending and National Assembly Deputy Speaker Veroljub Arsic also received Brian Finn, OECD, i.e. SIGMA organisation public finance expert, who offered to organise assistance, within his programmes, in those areas not covered by the other programmes. Since he coordinates with the other programmes he offered to organise budget execution workshops suggesting that the National Assembly should propose the budget execution of a ministry which had also undergone an audit of its budget execution financial report by the State Audit Institution.
The Chairman of the Committee on Finance, State Budget and Control of Public Spending went on to point out the need for assistance in the monitoring of the budget execution i.e. the public fund beneficiaries’ final statements and their audit by the State Audit Institution. That is why he proposed that this be done on the Ministry of Health as example, viz. the Republic Health Insurance Fund, one of the biggest budgetary beneficiaries which has had its business transactions audited in certain segments in the previous years and has previously been one of the programme budget breakdown “pilot projects”.
Brian Finn concluded that he would suggest that his central approve this type of assistance in September and duly inform the Chairman of the Committee on Finance, State Budget and Control of Public Spending, Veroljub Arsic.