The participants of the workshop were first addressed by the UK Ambassador to Belgrade, H.E. Denis Keefe who said that the Parliament’s legislative and control mechanisms let the citizens express their will and allow for civic control over the executive power. He emphasized the role of the National Assembly in the Euro-integration process and the importance of the professional support the Service provides to the MPs in their day-to-day work.
National Assembly Secretary General Jana Ljubicic highlighted the importance of project “Strengthening the Legislative and Control Capacities of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia”, underway for the past year with the support of the UK Embassy. Speaking of the National Assembly’s duties, Ljubicic stressed the importance of promoting the parliament’s control function which provides guidelines to the Government and institutional support to the fight against corruption. In her address, the National Assembly Secretary General underlined the importance of the Parliament’s transparency and public outreach, listing the activities undertaken by the National Assembly in the field.
Member of Parliament Dr Dijana Vukomanovic stressed how important it is to learn about the UK Parliament’s experience and best practice considering the country’s long history of democracy and parliamentarism.
In the course of the workshop, project associate Alistair Doherty discussed the institute of public hearing and other mechanisms used to conduct the National Assembly’s control role with the MPs and Support Service representatives through a series of debates. He also pointed out the potential for strengthening the Parliament’s representative and control role by organizing committee sittings outside of the National Assembly headquarters.
The workshop was also attended by representatives of association CRTA who spoke of the relationship with the media, cooperation with civic organisations and the use of social networks toward furthering the openness and transparency of the National Assembly’s work and creating a positive public image for the Parliament.