At its nineteenth session, held on 28 October, the Finance Committee discussed and endorsed the Report of the Ministry of Finance on the public debt of the Republic of Serbia, loans and obligations towards foreign creditors and other financial institutions for the period ending on 31 August 2004. The Minister of Finance, Mladjan Dinkic, took part in the discussion for this item.

The session also debated the Report of the Public Procurement Directorate and the Commission for the Protection of Bidders’ Rights for the period from 1 January to 30 June 2004. Djordje Jovanovic, director of the Public Procurement Directorate, and Vladimir Ivic, chairman of the Commission for the Protection of Bidders’ Rights. The Committee asked for additional information to be submitted.

Andrija Jovicic, member of the Working Group charged with auditing political parties’ financial reports, presented the Report on the auditing of political parties’ property for 2003. Committee members endorsed the Report and will forward it to the Ministry of State Administration and Local Self-government in order for the Political Organisations Register to be updated. It was agreed that the Committee should initiate the modification of the Act on the Financing of Political Parties. Criminal charges will be brought against 268 political parties which failed to submit reports, while parties which did submit the reports were asked to publish them in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia.

The chairman informed the deputies present of the formation of a sub-committee charged with drafting a Bill on the future national audit office.

Under Any Other Business, the Committee discussed the financing of local elections. The Ministries of Finance and State Administration and Local Self-government were asked for information on how local administrative bodies fulfilled their legal obligations in connection with the local elections.