Parties get over EUR 20mn from budget for campaign

The Anti-Corruption Agency received 863 reports on campaign spending from political parties by June 15, it has been announced. The parties received a total of EUR 20 million from the state budget, Zoran Stojiljkovic, chairman of the board of the Anti-Corruption Agency, told Tanjug. Parties get over EUR 20mn from budget for campaign Agency Director Zorana Markovic told a news conference that the deadline for filing the reports expired Tuesday and noted that almost all parties had turned them in. They would be published on the Agency website this week, following verification. Markovic recalled that after the adoption of the new law on the financing of political activities, parties got considerable sums from the state budget. These funds "could cover up to 80 percent of the parties' campaign expenses," believes Markovic. The five most visible parties - the Democratic Party (DS), the Serb Progressive Party (SNS), the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), United Regions of Serbia (URS) and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) got around EUR 11 million from the budget for the parliamentary, presidential and provincial elections. According to the Agency's data, which still does not include spending on the local elections, the coalition around the DS received a total of EUR 4 million, the SNS EUR 4.1 million, the SPS EUR 1.5 million, the LDP EUR 892,000 and the URS EUR 817,000 Stojiljkovic estimated that parties got some EUR 20 million from the state budget, or around four euros per voter. "This is not a lot if we get a functional government, but if we get a poor political process, it is too much," said Stojiljkovic. Markovic noted that parties also had private sources of funding, which the Agency would examine separately. She said the Agency would receive over 1,000 reports by the final deadline. The deadline for reports on the parliamentary election expires Tuesday, for the presidential on June 25, and for the provincial election on July 9. Zoran Stojiljkovic addresses reporters on Monday (Beta) Tanjug

Parties get over EUR 20mn from budget for campaign

Agency Director Zorana Marković told a news conference that the deadline for filing the reports expired Tuesday and noted that almost all parties had turned them in. They would be published on the Agency website this week, following verification.

Marković recalled that after the adoption of the new law on the financing of political activities, parties got considerable sums from the state budget.

These funds "could cover up to 80 percent of the parties' campaign expenses," believes Marković.

The five most visible parties - the Democratic Party (DS), the Serb Progressive Party (SNS), the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), United Regions of Serbia (URS) and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) got around EUR 11 million from the budget for the parliamentary, presidential and provincial elections.

According to the Agency's data, which still does not include spending on the local elections, the coalition around the DS received a total of EUR 4 million, the SNS EUR 4.1 million, the SPS EUR 1.5 million, the LDP EUR 892,000 and the URS EUR 817,000

Stojiljković estimated that parties got some EUR 20 million from the state budget, or around four euros per voter.

"This is not a lot if we get a functional government, but if we get a poor political process, it is too much," said Stojiljković.

Marković noted that parties also had private sources of funding, which the Agency would examine separately.

She said the Agency would receive over 1,000 reports by the final deadline.

The deadline for reports on the parliamentary election expires Tuesday, for the presidential on June 25, and for the provincial election on July 9.