Press Release, 03.12.2008.
The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance (and Personal Data Protection) said that the part of the Draft Budget relating to the financing of his institution, with all due respect to the need to make savings, was so unrealistically low that it appears that the intention of the backer of that Draft was to punish the institution of the Commissioner for the actions it undertakes. Such budget would make the Commissioner's work much more difficult and it would be impossible for him to assume new duties in connection with the implementation of the Law on Personal Data Protection, which, among other things, certainly puts the prospects of a visa waiver regime on a long stick, possibly even after 2010.
The Commissioner for Information of the Republic of Serbia urged the Serbian Government and all relevant political factors to use the excess situation in connection with the salaries and bonuses of Belgrade Airport management as an excuse to activate mechanisms which had existed for a long time in the normative system, but were never put in place. Such situations should not be occasions for exaltations and for paying lip service to respecting the right of the public; instead, they should but for real improvement of relations between the Government and the public.
The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance Mr. Rodoljub Sabic and Mr. Igor Soltes, President of the Court of Auditors of the Republic of Slovenia (institution with the major role in public expenditure control, similar to the role SAI should have in our country), talked today about their experiences in the fight against corruption and about ways to improve cooperation in that field.