Diplomacy Law returned in the procedure - Debate on the proposal in the second half of 2014

Proposal of the Law on foreign affairs has been returned to the procedure after the March elections and is in the finishing stage, said Ivica Dacic, Serbia's foreign minister to the newspaper 'Danas', after responding to a question whether the proposal will soon be found in parliamentary procedure, as it was announced by his predecessor, Ivan Mrkic, on many occasions in the past year and a half.
Dacic specifies that the proposal would be discussed in the second half of the year.
Aleksandra Joksimovic, president of the Center for Foreign Policy, comments for 'Danas' that the delay in the adoption of the new law on foreign affairs shows that it is not among the priorities, as opposed to the economic policies and the specific requirements by EU in certain areas.
- Although it is not on the list of priorities, the amended law on foreign affairs is important because the document will clearly define foreign policy of Serbia. Specifically, there will be no space left for some of the concerns that have existed so far. It is necessary to find a legal framework for important changes - indicates Joksimovic.
According to unofficial diplomatic sources of "Danas", the question remains to what extent the original text of the proposal will be amended. In this context, they point out that the particularly "questionable" stays the matter of whether very low quotes for diplomats without careers who may be appointed ambassadors are going to remain, as well as the matter of years of experience of professional diplomats before being elected to the ambassadorial function.
To remind ourselves, during the ministerial mandate, Mrkic used to state that the new law would allow the main criterion to be competence, not politics. As he said, it should ensure that "professionalism, experience and knowledge of foreign languages ​​are ahead of policy in the matter of appointment of a diplomat."
- We want to strengthen mechanisms that will serve the state leadership in the conduct of foreign policy and represent the backbone of the state policy, such as the defense and interior affairs. This mechanism will be modernized and professionally appropriate to the needs of modern Serbia, achieving its main foreign policy goals and, in particular, the strengthening of its economy - indicated Mrkić, or current foreign policy advisor to the President of Serbia, Tomislav Nikolic.

Ministarstvo spoljnih poslova Republike Srbije

Predsedništvo Republike Srbije

Proposal of the Law on foreign policy

Ivica Dacic

Ivan Mrkic

diplomacy law

Aleksandra Joksimovic

Center for foreign policy

new law on foreign policy

law on foreign policy

foreign policy of Serbia

Tomislav Nikolic