24 November 2009.

The fourth autumn session has started in the Serbian Parliament, with the debate on the draft  Law on establishing the competencies of Vojvodina, and on confirming the Statute of the northern Serbian province. More than 140 MPs of the ruling coalition and the Liberal Democratic Party have announced support to those documents, The report from Jelica Tapuskovic.

The draft of the Law on establishing the competencies of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina was explained by Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic, who stressed that they are harmonized with Constitutional provisions and that this act is thoroughly implementing the decentralization and concept of the provincial autonomy, but without elements of statehood.

The Prime Minister explained that the preparation of the law on transfer of competencies had been based on three principles. “we took the need to expand the existing competencies of Vojvodina, to make all the solutions in line with the Serbian Constitution and to implement the decentralization and a concept of provincial autonomy without the elements of statehood”, emphasized Cvetkovic.

He specified that the competencies of Vojvodina are divided in two groups: original and entrusted competencies, while adding that the envisaged solutions include the jurisdiction in the field of provincial significance, while the issues of property and financing will be regulated by separate laws. According to the Serbian Constitution, as Cvetkovic stressed, the autonomous provinces govern the provincial property, have the sources of income and provide the assets for the local self-government units, and they pass their own budget and final accounts. The law previews 20 competencies of Vojvodina, i.e. in the areas of urban planning, regional development, agriculture, water supply and forestry, hunting and fishing, tourism and catering, environmental protection, industry and crafts, traffic, labor market, education, health and social protection, public information, science and technology, economy and privatizations, mining and energy supply, as well as the local self-government.

Representatives of the ruling coalition believe that in the proposed Statute and Law on the competencies of Vojvodina there are no provisions that are in discord with the Serbian Constitution, and they invite the critics to present their arguments. Representatives of the oppositional parties, on the other hand, have many objections. The Democratic Party of Serbia has announced the proceedings before the Constitutional Court if those two documents are adopted. The Serbian Progressive Party and the radicals are announcing many amendments, asking for the withdrawal of these acts from the parliamentary procedure. However, this request is interpreted in the Socialist Party as demagogy of the parties that have submitted the biggest number of amendments.

The session opened with questions of the MPs to Mirko Cvetkovic and his ministers. The opposition asked for the extension of debate time from five to ten hours, which was rejected.