Belgrade

Committee Chairman Veroljub Arsic said that today’s sitting was being held outside of the National Assembly’s headquarters – in the Commission’s offices, so that the Committee members could gain direct insight into all the aspects of the Commission’s work on the scene and because of the emerging public speculations about its work.

Commission President Sasa Varinac said that the Commission members consider today’s sitting the Committee’s vote of confidence for their work. He reminded them that the Commission is currently in a very specific situation in view of the amendments to the Public Procurement Law which change the Commission’s mode of operation. The Commission President has tendered his resignation and the election procedure is currently underway for both a new president and two new Commission members. Varinac said that the Commission has been regularly submitting reports to the Committee outlining the number of cases it was processing, as well as the circumstances of its decision-making. Between December 2003 and 1 April 2013 the Commission had received 6,487 requests for the protection of rights, while from 1 April 2013 on, it has received 5,097 requests, said Varinac. He provided a detailed review of the Commission’s methodology i.e. the handling of said requests from the moment of arrival to the ruling.

Discussing the first item on the agenda the Committee members concluded that the Commission’s work is very important for the operation of the state authorities and the economy. The Committee members asked how long it takes to process the average request, how the Commission reacts if the exemption of a Commission member is requested, whether there have been any pressures on the Commission in certain cases, how frequent delays are and whether deadlines are broken, whether the harmonisation of Commission councils’ practice is in the works in light of the new regulations, how the Commission’s councils rule on cases, etc. They also remarked about additional reports from the Commission to the Committee.

The Committee members then proceeded to, by majority vote, give consent to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Committee on Finance, State Budget and Control of Public Spending and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy concerning the realisation of a three-year project and establishment of a Budget Office at the National Assembly.

The sitting held outside of the National Assembly’s headquarters was chaired by Committee Chairman Veroljub Arsic.