Deputy PM calls for changes to Anti-Corruption Agency law

BELGRADE Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has supported an initiative to change the Law on the Anti-Corruption Agency. He stressed that prevention of corruption was the key role of the Agency. Deputy PM calls for changes to Anti-Corruption Agency law Vucic today met with Anti-Corruption Agency Acting Director Tatjana Babic and Zoran Stojiljkovic and Zlatko Minic. They pointed to the problems which arose in the work on the draft anti-corruption strategy, the Agency said in a release. The first deputy prime minister agreed that the Agency was the body which had an important role in the drafting of the strategy and he backed the initiative for adopting the announced amendments to the Law on the Anti-Corruption Agency, noting that their essential role was to prevent corruption, the release states. The meeting also focused on changes to other laws which the Agency is implementing within its competences. The meeting was held in the Serbian government building. Babic told Tanjug earlier that the Agency, as an independent state organ that monitors the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, believed that it should be actively involved in the drafting of the document which was of strategic importance for the state. She reiterated that the Agency had sent six recommendations that the document should contain to the Justice Ministry. “In any case, the Agency will do its job whether it is actively involved in the drafting of the strategy or not. No matter what kind of strategy is made, we will monitor its implementation,” Babic concluded. Aleksandar Vucic (Beta, file) Agency official assesses meeting as “useful” Anti-Corruption Agency’s Board President Zoran Stojiljkovic has assessed that the meeting between Vucic and the Anti-Corruption Agency representatives was very useful and announced possible changes to some anti-corruption laws. “It was a very productive and useful talk that probably should have happened earlier. We have showed full understanding for the need to have a strategic combat against corruption and we have received strong support for the Agency’s active involvement in the drafting of the national strategy because it is responsible for the monitoring of the strategy’s implementation,” he explained after the meeting. Stojiljkovic noted that they had also been given support to work on a new law on the Anti-Corruption Agency “because some limitations and deficient results that the Agency has shown are a result of insufficient authority, i.e. inadequate institutional framework”. He stressed that the Anti-Corruption Agency representatives and Vucic had also discussed a possibility to change the Law on Financing of Political Activities once the analysis of the monitoring of the election campaign and political activates was finished. “The thing that is very interesting is that we have been given support to organize the widest possible debate once the analysis is done and when we come out with results, primarily with those we work with, with representatives of political parties, citizens’ groups and political coalitions and to take certain measures and make some corrections and improvements in the existing law regardless of the fact that it was adopted less than two years ago,” Stojiljkovic concluded. B92 Tanjug

Deputy PM calls for changes to Anti-Corruption Agency law

Vučić today met with Anti-Corruption Agency Acting Director Tatjana Babić and Zoran Stojiljković and Zlatko Minić.

They pointed to the problems which arose in the work on the draft anti-corruption strategy, the Agency said in a release.

The first deputy prime minister agreed that the Agency was the body which had an important role in the drafting of the strategy and he backed the initiative for adopting the announced amendments to the Law on the Anti-Corruption Agency, noting that their essential role was to prevent corruption, the release states.

The meeting also focused on changes to other laws which the Agency is implementing within its competences.

The meeting was held in the Serbian government building.

Babić told Tanjug earlier that the Agency, as an independent state organ that monitors the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, believed that it should be actively involved in the drafting of the document which was of strategic importance for the state.

She reiterated that the Agency had sent six recommendations that the document should contain to the Justice Ministry.

“In any case, the Agency will do its job whether it is actively involved in the drafting of the strategy or not. No matter what kind of strategy is made, we will monitor its implementation,” Babić concluded.

Agency official assesses meeting as “useful”

Anti-Corruption Agency’s Board President Zoran Stojiljković has assessed that the meeting between Vučić and the Anti-Corruption Agency representatives was very useful and announced possible changes to some anti-corruption laws.

“It was a very productive and useful talk that probably should have happened earlier. We have showed full understanding for the need to have a strategic combat against corruption and we have received strong support for the Agency’s active involvement in the drafting of the national strategy because it is responsible for the monitoring of the strategy’s implementation,” he explained after the meeting.

Stojiljković noted that they had also been given support to work on a new law on the Anti-Corruption Agency “because some limitations and deficient results that the Agency has shown are a result of insufficient authority, i.e. inadequate institutional framework”.

He stressed that the Anti-Corruption Agency representatives and Vučić had also discussed a possibility to change the Law on Financing of Political Activities once the analysis of the monitoring of the election campaign and political activates was finished.

“The thing that is very interesting is that we have been given support to organize the widest possible debate once the analysis is done and when we come out with results, primarily with those we work with, with representatives of political parties, citizens’ groups and political coalitions and to take certain measures and make some corrections and improvements in the existing law regardless of the fact that it was adopted less than two years ago,” Stojiljković concluded.