“Parliament to ratify Vojvodina Statute soon”

Vojvodina First Minister Bojan Pajtic says that the national parliament will ratify the new Vojvodina Statute in the first quarter of 2009. Pajtic told daily Dnevnik that the state parliament, along with ratifying the statute, will adopt a Law on Jurisdiction Transfer from the Republic to the Province. “Parliament to ratify Vojvodina Statute soon” “The Statute and jurisdiction law must be adopted at the same parliamentary session in order for the new Statute to be implemented, and I expect this to happen soon, given that the state budget has been adopted,” the minister said. He added that “some technical and terminological adjustments” needed to be made between the Statute and the accompanying bill. Pajtic said that the province had fulfilled its Constitutional obligations and passed the Statute on time, unlike the state parliament which had failed to confirm the Statute by the end of 2008, and had been unable to adopt laws due for adoption by the end of the year. The minister said that the process of transferring jurisdiction to the province would be monitored and accompanied with adequate funds for the Vojvodina budget in line with an agreement reached earlier with Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic. Pajtic and the prime minister agreed in December that 90 percent of money received from the sale of NIS would go to Vojvodina. According to the budget, Vojvodina will receive 50 percent of the money upon NIS’s privatization and the other 40 percent once the Statute and necessary laws are adopted. The national parliament accepted an amendment submitted by the Democratic Party of Serbia and New Serbia, whereby if, after the transfer of jurisdiction and the confirmation of the funds going to Vojvodina, it is established that the province has received more than its constitutionally-allotted seven percent slice of the state budget, the excess will go to help under-developed Serbian cities and towns. Pajtic said that this amendment had been adopted to smooth adoption of the budget.

“Parliament to ratify Vojvodina Statute soon”

“The Statute and jurisdiction law must be adopted at the same parliamentary session in order for the new Statute to be implemented, and I expect this to happen soon, given that the state budget has been adopted,” the minister said.

He added that “some technical and terminological adjustments” needed to be made between the Statute and the accompanying bill.

Pajtić said that the province had fulfilled its Constitutional obligations and passed the Statute on time, unlike the state parliament which had failed to confirm the Statute by the end of 2008, and had been unable to adopt laws due for adoption by the end of the year.

The minister said that the process of transferring jurisdiction to the province would be monitored and accompanied with adequate funds for the Vojvodina budget in line with an agreement reached earlier with Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković.

Pajtić and the prime minister agreed in December that 90 percent of money received from the sale of NIS would go to Vojvodina.

According to the budget, Vojvodina will receive 50 percent of the money upon NIS’s privatization and the other 40 percent once the Statute and necessary laws are adopted.

The national parliament accepted an amendment submitted by the Democratic Party of Serbia and New Serbia, whereby if, after the transfer of jurisdiction and the confirmation of the funds going to Vojvodina, it is established that the province has received more than its constitutionally-allotted seven percent slice of the state budget, the excess will go to help under-developed Serbian cities and towns.

Pajtić said that this amendment had been adopted to smooth adoption of the budget.