Assistant Director of the Republic Statistical Office Zoran Jancic informed the Committee members that the first results of the census, containing three types of data – population size, number of dwellings and number of households in Serbia, have been published, that the data was being processed and was expected to be published between June 2012 and the middle of 2013. Jancic was generally pleased by the manner in which census was implemented, with very few incidents. He pointed out that three municipalities in the south of Serbia – Bujanovac, Presevo and Medvedja had boycotted the census, but the boycott attempt in the Raska District had failed.

The Committee members asked the representatives of the Republic Statistical Office for additional information about the boycott of the census by the Albanian population in these three municipalities, expressing their regret and stating that this blurs the clear demographic picture of the population in Serbia. They requested information on whether and how the population in the diaspora was covered by the census. They also wanted to know when the data on the ethnicity of Serbian citizens would be published.

In the course of the debate, the Committee members and representatives of the Republic Statistical Office also debated how the census was financed by the state and European Union funds, as well as the objectivity of the criteria used to select census takers.

The sitting was chaired by Committee Chairman Srboljub Zivanovic.