Unjustified delay in the preparation of the law
Transparency Serbia pointed out today that the ministries have not organized a public debate on any draft law since February. However, there are already significant delays in fulfilling obligations from strategic documents, including the Action Plan for Chapter 23 and the Media Strategy.
The "technical government" can therefore only be seen as an excuse for inaction and non-compliance, especially when it comes to legislative activities planned in strategic acts. Namely, legal restrictions exist only when it comes to sending draft laws to the parliamentary procedure, but in no way is it forbidden for ministries to prepare draft laws and organize public debates in connection with them.
According to the data from the Government portal eKonsultacije https://ekonsultacije.gov.rs/, from the day of announcing the elections (February 15, 2022) until June 8, 2022, not a single draft law was presented for public discussion. During the previous four months, a public debate was launched on several planning documents (draft of the Youth Strategy, Action Plan for Implementation of the Strategy for Social Inclusion of Roma Men and Women and Proposal Action Plan for Implementation of the Strategy for Creating a Stimulating Environment for Civil Society Development) and on a document of another type - Decision on establishing the National Checklist of Dual-Use Goods.
In 2021, for the sake of comparison, a public debate on 28 draft laws and planning documents was announced on this Government portal and the previously used link.
This is one of the important indicators that the necessary reforms in Serbia in the first half of 2022 and probably in its continuation will be delayed not only because the repeated elections at one polling station delay the constitution of the National Assembly and the election of a new government but also because the current administration has not prepared and submitted for public discussion drafts on which the future Government and the Assembly could decide.
Among other things, the planning documents have long provided for amendments to the Law on Public-Private Partnerships and Concessions and amendments to the Criminal Code, and in the Media Strategy for the adoption and amendment of several laws (including the Law on Public Procurement related to media services).
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