Amendments to the Environmental Protection Act
On 12 October, 2018, the National Assembly of Republic of Serbia adopted amendments to the Environmental Protection Act, which were published in the Official Gazette No. 76/2018 dated 20th October, 2018, which came into force on 28th October, 2018.
The amendments made the extension of the list of exceptions for allocating funds of the Green Fund to beneficiaries for the purpose of financing the protection and improvement of the environment, without carrying out of a public competition, so the following exceptions are added:
- In case of financing of intervention measures in extraordinary circumstances of environmental pollution, recultivation and rehabilitation of the pollution of the area;
- For the preparation and co-financing of projects financed by the EU pre-accession assistance and the unforeseen costs of these projects – This amendment ensured that the methodology prescribed in accordance with the accredited EU fund management system can be applied.
- Co-financing projects financed by international development assistance and other financial resources that require co-financing.
Finally, the last amendment adds Article 101a which introduces the legal basis for the drafting of a sub-legal act – a Rulebook, which would accurately define what is to be checked in terms of environmental requirements of the users (natural persons) of the IPARD incentive, since there was not any rulebook that regulated this issue beforehand.