National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia / Activities / Activity details
Thursday, 13 June 2013
Ninth Sitting of the Culture and Information Committee
At the sitting held on 13 June, the Culture and Information Committee considered the Ministry of Culture and Information Activity Information for the period January-March 2013.
The representatives of the Ministry of Culture and Information, Minister Bratislav Petkovic, Assistant Minister Dragan Kolarevic and State Secretary Zoran Avramovic, briefed the Committee members on the Ministry’s work in the first quarter of the year and its upcoming activities. They announced that the Draft Law on Public Information and the Media would soon be sent to the Serbian Government which would in turn forward it into Assembly procedure. The Law on Electronic Media and Law on Public Audio-Visual Services are also expected to be adopted in early September, following a public debate.
In the debate, the Committee members had several objections to the Ministry’s work, among other things the fact that the Ministry did not address the problems in culture, that the Ministry had failed to support certain renowned cultural events such as the Nisville jazz festival, October Salon, Bitef and others and that cultural events in smaller communities have been completely disregarded in the allocation of public funds.
Committee Chairperson Vesna Marjanovic suggested holding a special Committee sitting dedicated to coming up with measures to halt the “further decline of Serbian culture”. She added that it is a well-known fact that Serbia suffers many social and economic problems and that the state’s money is being spent inadequately while important cultural events remain unfunded.
The Committee Chairperson announced that she would convene a Committee sitting to deliberate on the various initiatives related to the adoption of the set of media laws with representatives of the Ministry of Culture and Information.
She also informed the Committee members that the Committee Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson have been invited by EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule to the conference on Freedom of Expression and Media in Western Balkan Countries and Turkey on 20 June in Brussels.
The sitting was chaired by Vesna Marjanovic, Committee Chairperson.
Committees related to this activity
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9.00 - the National Assembly Speaker and Acting President of the Republic of Serbia meets with the delegation of the PACE Observation Mission (National Assembly Building, 14 Kralja Milana Street, Green Salon)
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9.45 - the PACE delegation meets with the “Aleksandar Vucic – Serbia Must Not Stop” Parliamentary Group (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, hall 2)
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10.30 - the PACE delegation meets with the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) Parliamentary Group (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, hall 2)
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11.15 - the PACE delegation meets with representatives of national minority parties (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, hall 2)
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12.00 - the PACE delegation meets with the “MPs stand with the students” Parliamentary Group (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, hall 2)
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12.30 - the PACE delegation meets with the Party of Freedom and Justice Parliamentary Group (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, hall 2)
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14.00 - the PACE delegation meets with representatives of the Ministry of the Interior (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, hall 2)
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14.45 - the PACE delegation meets with the Chair and members of the Commission for the Revision of the Voters’ Register (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, Small Hall)
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15.15 - the PACE delegation meets with the representatives of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, hall 2)
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16.00 - the PACE delegation meets with the Chairperson and members of the Republic Electoral Commission (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, Small Hall)