Environmental Protection Committee Chairperson Ivana Stojiljkovic said that the Committee had organized the public hearing to get information and expert opinions on the proposed document in Assembly procedure. On behalf of the submitter of the Bill, MP Maja Gojkovic, the Committee Chairperson said that ionizing radiation and nuclear safety has so far been regulated by the Law on Ionizing Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety and a number of by-laws. The Law was passed nine years ago and Serbia had in the meantime started the pre-accession talks with the European Union and undertaken the obligation to harmonize its legislation with the EU acquis. The intervening years also brought about significant technological advances and new findings in the area regulated by the Law, which the new law should address. In the nine years Serbia had also ratified four international conventions which brought with them certain obligations concerning the field. Some of the provisions are also difficult to implement and the existing Law has proven to have a number of loopholes which make its application problematic. The new law is supposed to make it easier to harmonize the national legislation with the EU acquis because it provides solid grounds for a successful inclusion into the European and global processes concerning nuclear and radiation security and safety.

Sladjan Velinov, Director of the Serbian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, thanked everybody who took part in the drafting of the Bill, emphasizing that passing it does not mean opening a back door for the construction of nuclear power plants in Serbia, making the country a nuclear waste dump or the closure of Serbian nuclear facilities.

Branko Brajic, Assistant Director of the Serbian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, presented the Bill in more detail. Its purpose is to protect people and the environment from the damaging effects of ionizing radiation, harmonize the national law with the EU acquis, improve the efficiency of regulatory control and the supervision of nuclear facilities, sources of ionizing radiation and radioactive waste. He said that technological advancements and new findings in the area require the adoption of this new law as does the need to provide more comprehensive and complete regulation of certain issues in line with the technological advancements and new findings in the area and the ratified international conventions. The noted loopholes in the existing Law passed nine years ago and the inability to implement some of its provisions also make it imperative to pass a new law. The new law is based on improving the management of existing, planned and un planned exposure to ionizing radiation, in includes the categorisation of activities, unified approach to regulatory control of radiation and nuclear safety, establishment of a truly independent regulatory body with a wider scope of authority, integrated inspections and the legal institute of suspension of approval and authorization.

The presentation was followed by a discussion between representatives of state bodies, Ministry of Environmental Protection, relevant institutions and civil society organizations. Finally, the Committee Chairperson invited everyone to send their comments and observations to the Committee to formulate into amendments to the Bill so as to optimize the final document.

The Environmental Protection Committee organized the public hearing with the help of UNDP and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation via project “Strengthening the Oversight Role and Transparency of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Phase Two”.