Opening the public hearing, Committee member Nikola Radosavljevic said that the Bill does not only concern the financing of political activities, but also the quality of our democracy, the accountability of political entities and the citizens’ trust in the electoral process. He added that the amendments to the Law aim to further improve transparency, strengthen control over the financing of political activities and align our system with modern standards.

The participants of the Public Hearing were addressed by the Speaker of Novi Sad City Assembly, Dina Vucinic, who, among other things, emphasised that the Bill amending and modifying the Law on Financing Political Activities is of particular importance, given that it is aimed at further strengthening the electoral process in Serbia and that it represents another step towards harmonising our legislation with international standards and recommendations. She welcomed the participants of the public hearing to Novi Sad, wishing them successful work, and a meaningful and constructive discussion on the Bill.

The submitter of the Bill amending and modifying the Law on Financing Political Activities, MP Miroslav Petrasinovic, stated that the text of the Bill was developed in cooperation with the OSCE/ODIHR, in order to implement their recommendations made after several election processes, and with the aim of improving electoral conditions in Serbia. He added that the text of the Bill was adjusted with the ODIHR and submitted to all relevant stakeholders in the country for their opinion.

This Bill targets eight essential recommendations that relate, among other things, to reducing donations to political entities, publishing financial reports on the conducted election campaign, expanding the powers of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, a graduated system of sanctions imposed by the Agency, campaigns that can be conducted by third parties, limiting election campaign costs and prohibiting the misuse of public funds, shortening the deadlines for the Agency to act when initiating proceedings ex officio and upon reports, shortening the deadlines for initiating a dispute before the Administrative Court, equal right to use public spaces, abolishing guarantees for those entities that do not have MPs or councillors, and more.

The submitter then presented in detail the implementation of the recommendations into the legal text, and in the discussion that followed, the participants exchanged opinions and sharing objections and suggestions to the proposed legal solution.

After the discussion, the Chair of the Public Hearing, Nikola Radosavljevic, expressed his expectation that the suggestions and opinions on the Bill would be useful in adopting a quality legal solution, which would contribute to transparency and increased trust in the system of financing political activities.

In addition to members of the Committee and MPs who are not members of the Committee, the public hearing was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, the Speaker of Novi Sad City Assembly, representatives of the Novi Sad City Administration, members of the Novi Sad City Assembly, representatives of the civil sector, as well as other interested members of the public.

The public hearing was chaired by Committee member Nikola Radosavljevic, and attended by the following Committee members and deputy members: Nevena Veinovic, Zeljko Rebraca and Ugljesa Markovic, as well as MPs who are not members of the Committee: Jasmina Obradovic, Tanja Radjenovic, Tomislav Jankovic, Milan Radin and Miroslav Petrasinovic, who is also the submitter of the Bill amending and modifying the Law on Financing Political Activities.

The Committee on Finance, State Budget and Control of Public Spending will hold another public hearing on the same topic, on 3 July 2026, in Belgrade.