Intelligence Agency Reform Draws Criticism in Serbia

A new draft law on the Serbian Security Agency, BIA, has been criticised for giving too much power to the agency's chief.

The law is in parliamentary procedure since Wednesday and lawmakers will shortly vote on it in a shortened procedure.

The amendment gives more authority to agency chief Bratislav Gasic in terms of deciding on employment, salaries, rewards and security checks conducted by the intelligence officers.

Serbia's government says the new law will improve the working and legal status of BIA employees, and aligns legislation on the BIA with that on other public sector bodies.

Critics say it will only strengthen Gacic's power, however.

Under the draft law, public competition will not be required for new staff and the chief can decide matters of employment and pay.

Many civil society activists, journalists and opposition politicians took to social media on Wednesday to criticize the new law.

The main criticism relates to the amendments regulating the security checks run by the BIA and determining what type of data or information should be marked secret.

"The new amendments are contrary to the fundamental solutions of the Law on Classified Information, which uniquely regulates this area," Rodoljub Sabic, Serbia's Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, said on Thursday.

The appointment of Gasic - a former defence minister - as head of the BIA surprised many in Serbia.

The senior official of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party is perhaps best known for making a sexist remark to a journalist.

"I love female journalists who get down on their knees easily," he told reporter Zlatija Labovic when she knelt down to get out of the...