Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BELGRADE881
2007-06-21 09:10:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Belgrade
Cable title:
AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH NEW PARLIAMENT SPEAKER
how-toVZCZCXRO1521 RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG DE RUEHBW #0881 1720910 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 210910Z JUN 07 FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1040 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS BELGRADE 000881
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM SR
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH NEW PARLIAMENT SPEAKER
UNCLAS BELGRADE 000881
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM SR
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH NEW PARLIAMENT SPEAKER
1. (sbu) The Ambassador's June 4 courtesy call on new (and quite
impressive and articulate) parliament speaker Oliver Dulic focused
primarily on parliamentary institutional reform. The Ambassador
congratulated Dulic on his appointment, and pledged support for his
efforts to make the parliament more of a player in policy setting and
to in turn strengthen this key institution of democracy.
2. (sbu) Dulic noted that his most immediate priorities would be
passing legislation to reform procedural rules in the parliament to
eliminate - or at least discourage - unprofessional behavior and
baseless obstructionism from, primarily, the Radical Party. In
addition, Dulic said he would be looking for creative ways, including
using development assistance, to create for the parliament a
sustainable corps of professional committee staff that could
eventually provide not just expertise but also continuity and
institutional memory for incoming MP's.
3. (sbu) Dulic admitted that allocating committee chairs to the
Radicals was a distasteful practice, but said it was probably
unavoidable due to a) the precedent of Radicals chairing committees
in previous parliaments owing to their plurality in the body, and b)
the likelihood that they would completely gridlock the work of the
committees if they were not given a share of leadership positions.
He noted as well that the SRS had duly and democratically elected
MP's, and excluding them from the legislative process would do more
harm to democracy in Serbia than dealing with their antics.
POLT
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM SR
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH NEW PARLIAMENT SPEAKER
1. (sbu) The Ambassador's June 4 courtesy call on new (and quite
impressive and articulate) parliament speaker Oliver Dulic focused
primarily on parliamentary institutional reform. The Ambassador
congratulated Dulic on his appointment, and pledged support for his
efforts to make the parliament more of a player in policy setting and
to in turn strengthen this key institution of democracy.
2. (sbu) Dulic noted that his most immediate priorities would be
passing legislation to reform procedural rules in the parliament to
eliminate - or at least discourage - unprofessional behavior and
baseless obstructionism from, primarily, the Radical Party. In
addition, Dulic said he would be looking for creative ways, including
using development assistance, to create for the parliament a
sustainable corps of professional committee staff that could
eventually provide not just expertise but also continuity and
institutional memory for incoming MP's.
3. (sbu) Dulic admitted that allocating committee chairs to the
Radicals was a distasteful practice, but said it was probably
unavoidable due to a) the precedent of Radicals chairing committees
in previous parliaments owing to their plurality in the body, and b)
the likelihood that they would completely gridlock the work of the
committees if they were not given a share of leadership positions.
He noted as well that the SRS had duly and democratically elected
MP's, and excluding them from the legislative process would do more
harm to democracy in Serbia than dealing with their antics.
POLT