Transparency Serbia: political-finance bill moved without ODIHR opinion
On June 26, Transparency Serbia said amendments to the Law on Financing Political Activities entered parliamentary procedure before ODIHR published an opinion and still fail to solve oversight, sanctions, and spending-limit problems. The Finance Committee scheduled four public hearings: June 30 in Kragujevac, July 1 in Nis, July 2 in Novi Sad, and July 3 in Belgrade.
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Transparency Serbia: Amendments to the Law on Financing Political Activities are proceeding without ODIHR opinion
N1 carries Transparency Serbia's assessment: the proposal submitted by SNS MP Miroslav Petrašinović is almost identical to the draft parliament sent to ODIHR on May 12, 2026, but ODIHR's opinion on it has not yet been published. The organization says the proposal fails to solve two key areas - oversight and sanctions - and that instead of a government bill with formal public consultation, the authorities are again using an MP-sponsored bill and public hearings. TS says the proposed spending cap is too high: 6 million euros for a list or candidate, 7 million euros for a two-round presidential election, and 12-13 million euros for combined elections; it proposes 300 million dinars, about 2.5 million euros. TS also criticizes the absence of sanctions for breaking caps, an overly broad third-party campaign rule, and abolition of the election deposit requirement because forced recovery of money from lists below 1% of votes would be impossible in most cases.
What does TS object to in the changes to the Law on Financing Political Activities?
Danas carries the TS statement and notes that the previous version of the law, on which ODIHR issued an opinion on May 11, 2026, did not include solutions for oversight and sanctions, and that those shortcomings remain in the current proposal. The outlet cites TS's calculation: a 6 million euro cap for a list or candidate and a 12-13 million euro cap in combined elections is higher than all reported expenses of the SNS-led coalition in 2022, when parliamentary, presidential, and Belgrade elections were held - about 10 million euros. TS cites comparable countries - Czechia, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Slovakia - and proposes a 300 million dinar cap. The organization also warns that abolishing the election deposit requirement could encourage filing lists for budget money.
Four public hearings on the Law on Financing Political Activities
Kurir reports the decision of parliament's Finance, Budget, and Public Spending Control Committee: four public hearings will be held on the bill submitted by Miroslav Petrašinović. The dates and cities are June 30 in Kragujevac, July 1 in Nis, July 2 in Novi Sad, and July 3 in Belgrade. Committee chair Veroljub Arsić said invitees will include committee members, MPs, the working group for improving the electoral process, the Finance Ministry, the Anti-Corruption Agency, RIK, the voter-list commission, the National Convention on the EU, CRTA, CESID, Transparency Serbia, the OSCE mission, the EU delegation, the U.S., U.K., German, Italian, French, and Norwegian embassies, and interested members of the public. Arsić rejected Dušan Nikezić's criticism that public debate is being replaced by hearings, while Petrašinović said the amendments, among other things, abolish election deposits for political actors without MPs.