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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Budget, conflict of interest legislation to top new Serbian government's agenda

Belgrade, 4 March 2004

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus, and the newly appointed Serbian ministers held a press conference on Thursday to announce the new government's first steps. Kostunica said that the first task for all ministers is to examine and report to the public on what they have found in their ministries, and then to set their own priorities. He said that several laws to regulate key areas, such as the state budget or the conflict of interest, will be high on the agenda, and added that abolishing the Office of Communications and setting up an office for media relations will be among the new government's first moves.

Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica addresses media

Kostunica also said the government will soon draw up a plan for Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus to make a tour around the region.

Kostunica said that passing a new budget law is among the top priorities, along with legislation to prevent the conflict of interest. He explained that this law is an anti-corruption one, which aims to define duties of officials on all levels. According to him, the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government will consult the Serbian Anti-Corruption Council when preparing this legislation.

The prime minister also announced that the government will propose changes to the laws on judges, the state prosecutor's office, the organisation of courts, and the venues and jurisdictions of courts and prosecutors' offices. He added that the government will also move to change the current laws on local self-government and local elections, in light of numerous disputes related to these laws.

Kostunica said that the new government will propose that the Penal Law of the Republic of Serbia be modified "by excluding parts which interfere with the Penal Law of the State Union of Serbia-Montenegro." The government will also propose the adoption of a law on political parties since Serbia currently only has a law that regulates their financing, as well as a new law on the association of citizens, since the law from 1981 is still in force.

It will further propose the adoption of new laws on public administration, the Serbian government, labour relations in state bodies, administrative procedure, and administrative disputes. The new law on ombudsman should secure additional forms of citizen protection, apart from the formal procedure.

Kostunica said that the government will also propose a law to rehabilitate persons who have been deprived of their lives, freedom or some other rights since April 6, 1941, for political and ideological reasons, without a court or administration ruling.

In line with the increased pro-European orientation and openness for cooperation with friends from Europe and the world, representatives of the Serbian government will meet today with US Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Kathleen Stephens and Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Louis Michel.

Kostunica said that he has had telephone conversations today with US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Mark Grossman, whose visit to Serbia, slated for today, has been cancelled due to technical problems, as well as with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who expressed his support to the newly-appointed democratic government of Serbia.

The prime minister said that the new government will cooperate with the media and establish a fair relationship. He confirmed that one of the first decisions of the new government will be to abolish the Office of Communications and set up an office for media relations, that will be available to the media 24 hours a day and will provide the best and the fastest contacts with the prime minister and the ministries.

Kostunica said he expects the government to come under criticism, which he said should be based on facts rather than sensationalism.

The office for media relations will be headed by Srdjan Djuric, a reporter who worked as editor at a number of TV networks during his career. Djuric was also correspondent and contributor for several radio stations, magazines and weekly papers, and worked as a PR manager.

The government will also provide assistance to help the Hilandar Monastery repair the damage from a fire that broke out today, the prime minister said.

Labus said that the government will pass a new decree on provisional financing at a session on Thursday. The new decree aims to give the newly-established ministries a share in financing, Labus explained, adding that the government will not change the size of the provisional budget.

The government must adopt a new budget by the end of the month, Labus went on to say, noting that the new budget bill will also explain the government's view of economic policy, its targets and measures to stimulate the economy. The new government will seek to secure a stable national currency, he said, adding that Serbia's hard currency reserves currently stand at $3.41 billion.

The government will also resume efforts to approve a set of economic laws, the deputy prime minister said, noting that certain laws will be put on the agenda alongside a package of budget-related laws, such as the laws on bankruptcy, registers, medicines and social protection. Some other laws, including a law on value-added tax (VAT) and a law on environmental protection, must be brought up to EU standards, Labus added.

Prior to adopting the necessary legislation, the government and the parliament will redefine their relations because the bulk of new laws stipulate the setting-up of regulatory bodies or agencies that will operate outside the government, but under parliamentary control. At the same time, the government will make efforts to implement the laws and regulations passed in the previous period and continue privatisation and the restructuring of public enterprises, said Labus.

He went on to announce further efforts to start drawing up a feasibility study for signing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU and resolve sugar export problems. The deputy prime minister added that the government has already prepared a list of 264 regulations whose implementation will harmonise various fields with EU standards.

Economic and financial cooperation with neighbouring countries is also high on the government's priority agenda, said Labus, adding that he is due to visit Ljubljana, Zagreb, Sarajevo, Tirana and Skopje, as well as other capitals in the region.