Economic Caucus on reforms in the field of planning and construction
The establishment of the Agency for Spatial Planning and Urbanism, the repeal of the Law on Linear Infrastructure and the Law on Conversion, the improvement of the portal for issuing building permits and the CEOP System, as well as the introduction of the green agenda in the field of construction, are just some of the legal innovations that were discussed today in the National assembly, at the 4th session of the Economic Caucus.
Those present had the opportunity to participate in public consultations, to take part in the discussion or to be informed about the improvement of the legislative framework in the field of planning and construction - the Law on Planning and Construction, the Law on Conversion, the Law on Line Infrastructure, the Law on Legalization of Buildings, whose proposed changes will be on the agenda of the Assembly session starting on 19 July.
Representatives of interested parties - Philip Morris and Atlantic Group companies touched on the problem of conversion, its unsustainability and inapplicability in terms of lost investments and jobs. The Minister of Construction, Goran Vesić, agreed and added that by repealing this law, the businesses would make it easier to invest, and citizens would be able to get real estate more favorably.
- No country in the region has a law on conversion, while in our country, although that regulation is in force, 94 percent of conversions were carried out free of charge. Since 2009, the state has received only 30 million euros from the conversion. Experience has shown that there is no reason for this institute to exist - explained Vesić.
The modernization of Serbia in the field of construction, in addition to the abolition of conversion, would also contribute to the definition of legal institutes for encouraging renewable energy sources through the introduction of energy efficiency certificates. With the introduction of the green building certificate, all buildings larger than 10,000 square meters would have to have a green certificate, while all new buildings would have to have an energy passport.
Another important item on the agenda concerned the amendment of the Law on Legalization of Buildings, which is aimed at citizens with the aim of enabling owners and tenants of illegally built buildings to be connected to electricity, water and heating.
- These changes will be of a temporary nature until the state resolves the issue of a large number of illegally built buildings, and NALED advocates that this be done through mass legalization and digitization of the procedure. We are satisfied that the state recognized these proposals and included them in the agenda, and we are ready to support further work in this direction - said the executive director of NALED, Violeta Jovanović.
The current convocation of the Economic Caucus was constituted on April 20. More than 30 deputies from 13 parliamentary groups of the ruling majority and the opposition participate in its work. The chairman, deputy Ninoslav Erić, announced at the constitutive session of this body that the main task of the Caucus is to solve investment obstacles as efficiently as possible.
Bearing in mind that the focus is on laws that affect the improvement of business conditions, the Caucus will mainly deal with issues from the following areas - comprehensive improvement of property-legal relations on real estate (legalization, conversion, expropriation, spatial planning), development of e-Government, improvement of the labor market , areas of food and agriculture, digitization of health care, strengthening Serbia's competitiveness through suppression of the gray economy and encouragement of innovation, as well as EU integration.
