At the sitting held on 5 October, the European Integrations Committee discussed in principle the three defence Bills included in the agenda for the First Sitting of the Second Regular Session of the National Assembly in 2009: the Bill on Military, Labour and Material Duty, the Bill on Civil Service and the Bill on the Participation of the Serbian Army and other defense forces in multinational operations outside the borders of the Republic of Serbia.

Elaborating the Bills, State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence Igor Jovicic stressed that the proposed solutions shall contribute to the reform of the defence system and are adjusted to the international standards in the field.

Jovicic said that the Bill on Military, Labour and Material Duty envisages the formation of active military reserves in Serbia, whose members would be engaged to fill up the Military units and preserve their operational abilities. The Military reserves shall be divided into active and passive, and military duty can still be served with or without a weapon.

Explaining the Bill on Civil Service, Jovicic said that military servicemen shall be able to exchange their military service with civil service stating conscientious objection as reason. Civil service shall be served for a period of nine months in state authorities, organisations or institutions of public importance.

The Bill on the Participation of the Serbian Army and other defense forces in multinational operations outside the borders of the Republic of Serbia envisages the participation of professional servicemen alone, ones trained for such missions, Jovicic stressed.

The Committee members endorsed the Bills in principle, by a majority of votes. The sitting was chaired by Laszlo Varga, Committee Chairman.