Opening the sitting, Environmental Protection Committee Chairman Dr Branislav Blazic informed the attending about the Committee and National Assembly’s scope of authority and activities as regards Serbia’s EU accession talks. The Committee Chairman said that the National Assembly had passed the Resolution on EU accession on 13 October 2004 pledging that the harmonization of the Serbian legislation with the EU acquis would be a priority. By adopting the Resolution on the Role of the National Assembly and Principles in the Negotiations on the Accession of the Republic of Serbia to the European Union in late 2013 the National Assembly urged the Government to continue implementing the national programme for the adoption of the EU acquis. Ever since the National Assembly has been passing the laws from the EU accession National Programme following the previously ascertained dynamics and monitoring their implementation, while the Government submits a report to the National Assembly twice a year. Blazic went on to explain that before the negotiating position on a chapter is ascertained the Government submits a proposal to the European Integration Committee, with the Environmental Protection Committee being the one responsible for the negotiating position on Chapter 27. Since the proposal of the negotiating position on Chapter 27 has still not been completed the Environmental Protection Committee has not considered it, but through the three-monthly reports on the activities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection the Committee is kept informed on the course of the drafting of this document and all of the relevant ministry’s activities concerning the preparations to open said chapter. Through the so-called Green Chair mechanism the Committee is in constant touch with the Ministry at the civil sector.

Zeljko Pantelic, Assistant Minister of Agriculture and Environmental Protection, said that the Negotiating Group 27 had received the screening report for Chapter 27, and a letter from the Slovak Republic, chair of the EU Council, inviting Serbia to submit its negotiating position on Chapter 27, without opening benchmarks. The EU is concerned about the elimination of the functional chemicals agency, as well as the lack of an environmental protection fund and an operative institution disposing environmental fees, employee fluctuation and limited funds.

The attending were also addressed by Vladimir Galic, secretary of AP Vojvodina Provincial Government, who reported on the activities geared toward the opening of Chapter 27. He said that the Secretariat is in charge of sustainable development and environmental protection, especially nature conservation, air quality monitoring, noise levels, waste management and industrial pollution. Sinisa Mitrovic, advisor to the President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, and Natasa Djerek, representative of the National Convention on the EU Working Group for Chapter 27, spoke about the results achieved in the talks on opening Chapter 27.

The attending went on to discuss the challenges concerning Chapter 27, strategic priorities, financing of the Green Fund, public-private partnership in the organization of landfills, punitive measures for environmental pollution and steering the collection of secondary raw materials toward legal channels.

The sitting was attended by Committee Chairman Dr Branislav Blazic, Committee members and deputy members Radoslav Cokic, Sonja Vlahovic, Borka Grubor, Prof. Dr Snezana Bogosavljevic Boskovic, Ivana Stojiljkovic, Jasmina Karanac, Vladimir Petkovic and Sonja Pavlovic, by the chair Branislava Jeftic, the Chairperson of the AP Vojvodina Parliamentary Committee on Urbanism, Spatial Planning and Environmental Protection, and the Parliamentary Committee members, as well as representatives of the AP Vojvodina Provincial Government, Serbian Chamber of Commerce and civil society organizations.