The Agency for the Prevention of Corruption has warned that the way the Parliamentary Working Group dealing with amendments to the Law on Prevention of Corruption leaves room for various types of abuses and thus creates a favorable environment for the development of corruption risks.
By the conclusion of the Collegium of the President of the Assembly Danijela Đurović at the end of December, a working group was formed, which should consist of six people, two MPs each from the government and from the opposition and two representatives of non-governmental organizations.
The names of only four of the six members are known from that document, and they are the deputies of the Democratic Front (DF). Dragan Bojović and a Democrat Momo Koprivica, Vanja Ćalović Marković in front of the Network for the Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector (MANS) and Ana Đurnić in front of the Alternative Institute (IA). The names of the members of the opposition were not mentioned.
"A working group that has a composition that has not been determined in advance, in which two members of the working group have not been determined, determining the composition of the working group on the principle of an 'open list', on the assumption that it was formed in this way in order to ensure a quorum, which would create an illusion legitimacy or that the remaining positions could subsequently be filled, speaks first of all about the lack of any criteria for the formation of this working group", states the opinion of the director of the Agency Jelena Perović.
The working group has had several sessions so far. The deadline by which the Working Group should finish its work is May 1.
"Education of the working group using the broad discretionary powers of the President of the Assembly and part of the deputies, members of the Parliamentary Anti-Corruption Committee, lack of transparency, and without predetermined conditions and criteria, is an unequivocal corruption risk that calls into question the future work and legitimacy of this working group", it is stated. in opinion.
This process should, in the Agency's opinion, imply a broader consensus that ensures the necessary level of transparency and participation in the legislative procedure, thus creating conditions in which the interested professional public can contribute to the quality of regulations.
"...Decreasing the space for favoring individual interests, which is hard to expect, considering that the working group in question is made up of two representatives of the parliamentary majority and two representatives of NGOs who were elected without predetermined criteria in a procedure that was not accompanied by transparency" , it is stated in the opinion signed by director Perović.
Bonus video:
