Caucus analyzed laws in the field of construction and investments
The new convocation of the Economic Caucus of the National Assembly held its first working session on Thursday, April 27, discussing a set of draft laws in the field of construction and property-legal relations over real estate that will soon be before MPs, as well as other regulations and procedures that are currently holding back numerous investments in our country.
Representatives of NALED emphasized the great importance of removing administrative barriers and solving property-legal issues due to the contribution of the construction sector to Serbia’s economic development. The share of the construction sector in the GDP was 3.4% until the introduction of the system of electronic issuance of building permits, and after this very successful reform initiated by NALED, it reached a share of 5.7%. After a long-term trend of growth in construction production, last year there was a drop in the value of works by as much as 11.8%, which is why it is necessary to further improve the conditions for investment.
The MPs will first discuss the amendments to the Law on Planning and Construction, with the most significant developments being the introduction of the eSpace system, the introduction of elements of the "green agenda" in this area, the abolition of the fee for conversion of the right of use into ownership right over real estate, the taking over of the competence of the line ministry in situations where the investor estimates that local government will not be effective in issuing permits, returning the Spatial Planning Agency, introducing the chief state urban planner, etc.
Representatives of NALED pointed out to the MPs the good solutions in the law, but also the potential risks of certain provisions in the draft and suggested that their adoption should be approached with caution. It was also pointed out that the amendments to the law should be supplemented with solutions such as the abolition of the fee for issuing design conditions, the abolition of the Audit Commission or the reduction of its powers, the relaxation of the deadlines in the law that are prescribed very ambitiously, with the establishment of an effective mechanism for sanctioning those who break the deadlines and Ph.D.
Initiatives for changes to other regulations were also presented, and above all, proposals for the introduction of a new mechanism for implementing the legalization of illegally built buildings with the aim of implementing mass legalization, creating a new mechanism for solving the so-called old objects in the cadastre, digitization of documentation on construction sites, etc. The deputies were also asked that the National Assembly adopt an authentic interpretation of Article 95 of the Law on Cooperatives in order to put an end to the demands of fake cooperatives for the return of agricultural land that block the disposal of that land and investment.
At the next session of the Economic Caucus, it is expected to consider changes to a set of laws in the field of environmental protection.
The new convocation of the Economic Caucus was constituted on April 20 and more than 30 deputies from 13 parliamentary groups of the ruling majority and the opposition are participating in the work. The chairman of the Caucus is MP Ninoslav Erić from SNS.
