Parliamentary committees approve bills on gov't, ministries

BELGRADE - The Serbian parliamentary committee on the judiciary and the committee on constitutional affairs and legislation approved on Thursday in principle amendments to the laws on government and ministries following a plenary debate that started in the afternoon.

The amendments are a prerequisite for electing the new government.

Under the amended bill on ministries, the future government will have 16 ministries - the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Mining and Energy, the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of State Administration and Local Self-Government.

Among the ministries will also be the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Youth and Sport and the Ministry of Culture and Information.

The amendments to the law on government propose that the prime minister may establish a council for economic development as well as councils for state authorities and public services.

Earlier in the day, the parliamentary administrative committee took note of resignations by four MPs elected in the March 16 polls - Prime Minister-designate Aleksandar Vucic, Vojvodina Prime Minister Bojan Pajtic, parliamentary Secretary-General Jana Ljubicic and Democratic Party MP Miodrag Stojkovic.

Under the law on election of MPs, in case an MP's term ends in this manner, the parliamentary seat shall belong to the political party that had put...