Šutanovac on army internal control, reforms

Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac has said that his ministry's reform will introduce internal control into military police and military intelligence service. "In this way we complete the civilian control which is very important since it did not exist before," he told daily Politika in an interview. Sutanovac on army internal control, reforms Sutanovac also stated that he expects a draft law on Military-Security Agency (VBA) and Military-Intelligence Agency (VOA) to be ready "very soon", and that this legislation should be adopted in parliament by the end of the year. "We plan to make a contemporary act for modern services, to implement internal control and for those services to finally get a legal framework necessary for the 21st century and inspectors," the minister was quoted as saying. He added that beside the legislative changes, these military services and military police will also be reorganized. "We are at this moment looking at the necessary capacities so that these bodies maintain a maximum of their functionality, to have a certain number of people, and not to cost more than they have to." Speaking about the influence of the economic crisis on the defense system, he said that the system "will not suffer", but that it will "hardly be able" to be modernized by "contemporary means". "There will be no halt to our airplanes flying, or performance of exercises, as was the case before. We have sufficient reserves to function normally, even in case the year turns out to be very much a crisis one," stressed Sutanovac. Reminding that the cabinet had adopted its "final strategic review of defense", he said that a law on deployment of the Serbian Army and other defense forces in multinational operations abroad has also been sent to the government. "I expect that during next week the government will receive the strategy of national security and strategy of defense, which have finally been formulated along with all the objections that were acceptable." Asked about the military's professionalization, Sutanovac said that a lack of money will prevent full professionalization to take place through 2010. He also said that this year Serbia's office with NATO will open, after which, "cooperation in full capacity will start".

Šutanovac on army internal control, reforms

Šutanovac also stated that he expects a draft law on Military-Security Agency (VBA) and Military-Intelligence Agency (VOA) to be ready "very soon", and that this legislation should be adopted in parliament by the end of the year.

"We plan to make a contemporary act for modern services, to implement internal control and for those services to finally get a legal framework necessary for the 21st century and inspectors," the minister was quoted as saying.

He added that beside the legislative changes, these military services and military police will also be reorganized.

"We are at this moment looking at the necessary capacities so that these bodies maintain a maximum of their functionality, to have a certain number of people, and not to cost more than they have to."

Speaking about the influence of the economic crisis on the defense system, he said that the system "will not suffer", but that it will "hardly be able" to be modernized by "contemporary means".

"There will be no halt to our airplanes flying, or performance of exercises, as was the case before. We have sufficient reserves to function normally, even in case the year turns out to be very much a crisis one," stressed Šutanovac.

Reminding that the cabinet had adopted its "final strategic review of defense", he said that a law on deployment of the Serbian Army and other defense forces in multinational operations abroad has also been sent to the government.

"I expect that during next week the government will receive the strategy of national security and strategy of defense, which have finally been formulated along with all the objections that were acceptable."

Asked about the military's professionalization, Šutanovac said that a lack of money will prevent full professionalization to take place through 2010.

He also said that this year Serbia's office with NATO will open, after which, "cooperation in full capacity will start".