On the second day of work, 27 April, the National Assembly completed a joint discussion in principle on the Bill on the Confirmation of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Russian Federation on the Conditions of Mutual Travel of Citizens of the Republic of Serbia and the Citizens of the Russian Federation.

The deputies went on to commence a discussion on the particulars of the first item on the agenda, Bill amending and modifying the Republic of Serbia 2009 Budget Law, with its accompanying proposals of decisions granting consent to the decisions amending and modifying the financial plans for 2009 of: the Republic Fund for Pension and Disability Insurance of Employees, the Republic Health Insurance Agency and the National Employment Service.

At the beginning of the third day of work, 28 April, the heads i.e. authorised representatives of the Deputy Groups exercised their right under article 235 of the Rules of Procedure to ask questions i.e. request information or explanations.

Afterwards, the National Assembly continued the discussion on the particulars of the Bill amending and modifying the Republic of Serbia 2009 Budget Law, with its accompanying proposals of decisions granting consent to the decisions amending and modifying the financial plans for 2009 of: a) the Republic Fund for Pension and Disability Insurance of Employees, b) the Republic Health Insurance Agency and c) the National Employment Service.

In the morning part of the sitting the National Assembly completed the discussion on the particulars of the proposed budget rebalance and accompanying documents. At the end of the discussion, Minister of Finance Diana Dragutinovic said that by the budget rebalance the Government managed to adjust to the current situation in the world economy. To the objections of some of the opposition party deputies she responded that all the levels of government should shoulder the burden of crisis and stated that the country’s debt is not large and the Serbia belongs to the group of least indebted countries, i.e. that the public debt makes up 29% of the domestic product, which is not high.

In the continuation, the National Assembly completed the discussion on the particulars of the six Bills accompanying the budget rebalance: the Bill amending and modifying the Law on Tax on Use, Possession and Carrying of Goods, the Bill amending and modifying the Personal Income Tax Law, the Bill amending and modifying the Excise Tax Law, the Bill amending and modifying the Court Fees Act, the Bill amending and modifying the Law on loan abeyance and write-off on grounds of mandatory health insurance contributions and the Bill on temporary cut in pay i.e. wages, net fees and other income in public administration and the public sector.

The National Assembly Speaker, Prof. Dr Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic set Wednesday, 29 April 2009, as Voting Day on the items on the agenda for the sitting, beginning at 4 p.m.

Voting Day

On Voting Day, 29 April, the deputies adopted the Bill amending and modifying the Republic of Serbia 2009 Budget Law, with its accompanying proposals of decisions granting consent to the decisions amending and modifying the financial plans for 2009 of the Republic Fund for Pension and Disability Insurance of Employees, the Republic Health Insurance Agency and the National Employment Service in its entirety. They also adopted the proposal that the National Assembly Support Service in cooperation with the relevant Government services, technically adjust the text of the law with its adopted amendments before forwarding the law to be published.

The National Assembly also adopted the Bill amending and modifying the Law on Tax on Use, Possession and Carrying of Goods, the Bill amending and modifying the Personal Income Tax Law, the Bill amending and modifying the Excise Tax Law, the Bill amending and modifying the Court Fees Act, the Bill amending and modifying the Law on loan abeyance and write-off on grounds of mandatory health insurance contributions, Bill on temporary cut in pay i.e. wages, net fees and other income in public administration and the public sector and the Bill on the Confirmation of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Russian Federation on the Conditions of Mutual Travel of Citizens of the Republic of Serbia and the Citizens of the Russian Federation, in their entirety.

Since the National Assembly had completed the discussion on all the items on the agenda and ruled on them, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic, concluded the Fifth Sitting of the First Regular Session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia in 2009.