Opposition obstructs EU rep's presentation of EC report

Opposition obstructs EU rep's presentation of EC report

They were invoking the Assembly's rules and refusing to consider the document, that had been submitted in English. They were also questioning the legitimacy of Davenport himself as an EU representative - considering that his country has voted to leave the EU.

The Dveri Movement has also asked that the committee's session be postponed "until Serbia joins the EU."

Dveri leader and deputy Bosko Obradovic told Davenport that instead of presenting EC's progress report on Serbia, he should present "a report on Brexit."

"Davenport who comes from Great Britain is not competent to deal with this subject. Great Britain has left the EU and I don't know why he is persuading us to join the EU," said Obradovic.

SRS deputies, meanwhile, said that they received the material for today's session in English, and reported this as a violation of the Assembly's rules of procedure.

"We received no material for work, English is still not an official language of the Assembly. Until you can provide us with adequate material and create (proper) conditions, you should postpone the meeting," said Nemanja Sarovic (SRS).

He also objected to Davenport being seated in the chair of the presiding official today, and noted that while the EU representative is allowed to address sessions of the Serbian Assembly, this is not true when it comes to the Committee. "That man sitting next to you is an ordinary clerk of the EU, which is disintegrating," said Natasa Jovanovic (SRS).

The committee's chairwoman, Marinka Tepic (LSV), said that the document in question was not "our official" document, and added that "English is an official language of the EU" - while Davenport planned to present the report's summary in Serbian.

Milimir Vujadinovic, a deputy from the ruling SNS, commented on the situation by saying that "citizens can unfortunately see in today's session of the Committee something that is not an image of Serbia."

Tanjug said that the session was also attended by numerous deputies who are not members of the Committee - and who have been heard "heckling, applauding, and commenting."

When the meeting resumed after a break called by Tepic, Davenport left the presiding official's chair and moved to the benches, as demanded by the Radicals.

However, they continued to obstruct the session, again asking for Davenport to present his "report on Brexit," and for the documents related to the Committee's work to be submitted in Serbian instead of English.

Opposition LDP leader Cedomir Jovanovic supported the latter demand, but criticized "the lynching" of the EU representative, who Jovanovic said "came to do his job."

Jovanovic was also in favor of postponing today's meeting.

Chairwoman Tepic then called another break in order to consult with Committee members on how to proceed.