Vesna Jokanovic, representative of the Ministry of Culture and Information, said that the proposed funds are 13% lower than in this year’s budget, and that the Ministry asked the Government for a 500 million RSD increase in funds, a request which was not taken into account.

The representative of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Milesa Marjanovic said that the funds were allocated based on this year’s budget rebalance and are limited by the country’s need for fiscal consolidation. Therefore, only previous years’ cultural projects can be funded the following year, unlike the new projects the competition for which had not been completed.

The Committee members declared the decreased budget for culture and information a testimony to the fact that Serbia does not take them into account or recognise their importance. They also pointed out that the allocation for culture is at its lowest in the last 20 years. On the occasion, they stressed that society cannot progress without investing into culture and education, and that cultural priorities and better control of the expenditure of said funds need further consideration.

The Committee members announced that they would submit amendments proposing an increase in the funds for the area from 0.62% to at least 1% of the entire budget. They believe that this increase should be done at the expense of positions which are envisaged to receive more than double the last year’s funds.

The Committee endorsed the increase in the investment funds for the National Museum and Museum of Contemporary Art, and deemed that reducing the funds for cultural programmes and projects would impoverish the cultural scene.

Committee Chairperson Vesna Marjanovic elaborated the Information on the election procedure for members of the Serbian Broadcasting Institution Programme Board. She stressed that the board members’ three-year term of office is due to expire on 11 December, and that, pursuant to the Broadcasting Law, the National Assembly elects seven members from the ranks of MPs, and 12 at the proposal of the Republic Broadcasting Agency.

In late October, the Committee sent a memo to the National Assembly Speaker, as well as the heads of the parliamentary groups, asking them to nominate candidates for Programme Board members, but so far only three parliamentary groups have done so.

The Committee Chairperson repeated her request saying that four candidates should be nominated by political parties from the ruling coalition, and the remaining three should be nominated by the opposition, adding that the matter will be ruled on at the National Assembly Collegium.

At the sitting, the Committee considered the request made by the Liberal Democratic Party Parliamentary Group asking it to vote on the address of MP Sinisa Kovacevic at the National Assembly sitting. Consequently, some Committee members asked for a wider debate on the RTS operation and business dealings. However, neither of the proposals received the number of Committee votes required for them to be included into the agenda.

The sitting was chaired by Vesna Marjanovic, Committee Chairperson.