02. 08. 2012

Parliament to open debate on NBS and ombudsman

Belgrade, August, 2, 2012 (Tanjug) - The Serbian parliament will open a sitting on Thursday to discuss amendments to the Law on the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) and election of ombudsman.

The only candidate for the office is incumbent citizens' protector Sasa Jankovic.

Parliament Speaker Nebojsa Stefanovic called an emergency sitting at the request of a group of 105 MPs, which put forward the amendments to the Law on the NBS.

The reasons offered for amendments underline that they do "not interfere with the independence and integrity of the central bank," and that amendments are aimed at increasing the parliamentary oversight of the NBS in line with constitutional provisions.

The key changes that the amendments would like to bring about: to return the oversight powers to the parliament, elect NBS officials in the parliament, expand the NBS Council's jurisdictions, and limit the competencies of the Governor and Executive Board.

The recommendation is that the bill should be rushed through the parliament.

As regards the election of ombudsman, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Democratic Party (DS), and Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) recommended Jankovic for the second term in office. The majority of parliamentary groups backed the proposal.

In their public statements, representatives of most parliamentary groups announced that they would support Jankovic's re-election.