The Serbian parliament adopted today the Law on public administration and the Law on civil servants, which should free public administration of political influence, increase the professionalism of employees and enable continuation of the administration's reform.
In line with the European model, the Law on public administration introduces the post of a state secretary, instead of a deputy minister. There can be one or more state secretaries in each ministry. A state secretary is appointed by the government at the minister's proposal, and his term in office ends at the same time as the minister's. Apart from the minister, the state secretary is the only political official in the public administration named by the government.
The parliament also adopted the Law on civil servants, which should come into force in July next year. It places special emphasis on the professionalism of civil servants and protects their working status from political influence.