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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Discussion on Draft Law on Interior to be held in a month

Belgrade, 23 January 2023

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic assessed that the discussion on the Draft Law on the Interior, which was conducted today with representatives of civil society and the National Convention of the EU, was concrete, that the positions were approximated and that, most importantly, some kind of understanding was established.

After several hours of discussion, Brnabic announced that the next meeting will be held in a month, when they will go through the things they failed to agree on together and that after that the Draft Law will be subject to public discussion.

The Prime Minister added that she suggested that the current final version be forwarded to everyone in order to see what was rejected and what was accepted, and at the same time called for the continuation of work on the operational plan.

During today's discussion, in which Minister for European Integration Tanja Miscevic, Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic as well as representatives of the Ministry of Justice, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Justice, Brnabic said that the goal of the new law on interior is to improve security of citizens and not to threaten and limit their fundamental rights.

Gasic said that the 2016 law makes the work of Interior Ministry’s members more difficult and explained that he insisted that as many people as possible be involved in the drafting of the law and that the working group should include trade unions and non-governmental organisations with the intention of passing a modern law and preventing a huge number of labour disputes.

According to Gasic, the discussion on the draft was extended by another month, adding that everything is in the interest of the citizens of Serbia.

The goal is to increase the security of the citizens, and not to do something overnight with a political tendency and without foundation, he said.

State Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior Danilo Stevandic announced that the part of the Draft Law, which referred to the entry of the police into houses and apartments without a court order, was withdrawn from this document.

Coordinator of the National Convention on the EU Bojana Selakovic assessed that it is very important to have an honest and open discussion on this issue, so we already have information that some suggestions have been included in the Draft, because it is in everyone's interest that citizens' safety be at a high level.

Coordinator of the Working Group for Chapter 24 of the National Convention on the EU Bojan Elek suggested that this draft should be ignored and that a new one should be started.

Brnabic said that the government is open to all comments, noting that the Ministry has good explanations and that the entire public should hear them.

She said that there is no intention to do this behind closed doors and that this public discussion is not sudden.

Last year, the Ministry of the Interior proposed changes to a whole set of new regulations in the field of security, but after criticism from the public, the government announced on 26 December that this proposal was also withdrawn from the procedure.