Civil society organizations express serious concerns about the insufficient transparency and limited opportunities for public and expert participation in the process of drafting the new Law of Air Protection. Despite its critical importance for the health and quality of life of citizens in Serbia, the law-making process has not been conducted in accordance with applicable regulations, while the proposed amendments do not address key challenges in the areas of air quality monitoring, timely response to incidents, oversight and sanctioning of polluters.
Disregard for minimum public participation standards
The public consultation on the Draft Law, which began on January 15, 2025, was conducted in accordance with the minimum standards for public participation. Given the severity of air pollution issues in Serbia, we believe that the 20-day period is insufficient for a thorough analysis and adequate discussion of the proposed solutions. Additionally, organising only one hybrid public presentation in Belgrade does not align with the need for broader involvement of stakeholders. According to the latest air quality report in Serbia, prepared by the Serbian Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), air pollution exceeds acceptable levels in more than 20 cities and municipalities across the country, while the presentation was held solely in Belgrade.
Irregularities in the Process
The process of drafting the Law commenced in February 2024, and only two civil society organizations (CSOs) were included in the Working Group for its development, selected through a competition with conditions that precluded participation of certain organizations with proven expertise and long-standing contributions to the fight for clean air. In this way, the interested public was, from the very beginning, effectively excluded from the process.
Early public consultations held in November 2024, which only covered part of the Draft Law, added another layer of confusion. It is unprecedented for consultations to be held on only part of a law, while public review is a practice applied exclusively to spatial and urban planning documents. The consultation process, as foreseen in the preparation of such an important regulation, was conducted contrary to the legal requirements, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection did not conduct a regulatory impact assessment, while the initial foundations lacked the minimum elements stipulated by law. It was necessary to identify and explain the issues that had led to the current state in order to draw appropriate conclusions from such an analysis and subsequently translate them into legal solutions that would contribute to addressing the problems. The analysis attached to the Draft Law fails to identify the causes of the issues and only superficially explains the consequences, without establishing a clear causal link.
Key issues that remain unresolved
Despite the new legal framework, some of the most important issues in the field of air protection remain unresolved:
1. Local air quality monitoring
The proposed Draft Law still allows local governments to independently establish monitoring networks according to their own capabilities, meaning there will be no mandatory, comprehensive and continuous monitoring of all air pollutants.
2. Measurement for special purpose in emergency situations
The New Law sets a five-day deadline for authorities to decide whether to initiate special-purpose measurements in environmental incidents, such as landfill fires, unnecessarily complicating the decision-making process. In practice, this means measurements may only occur after the pollution source is eliminated and when pollutant concentrations have already returned to permissible levels.
3. National Emission Reduction Plan
The provisions defining this key instrument for reducing pollution from thermal power plants have been withdrawn. This proposal is particularly problematic considering that thermal power plants operated by Power Electricity Company of Serbia have been emitting four to six times more sulfur dioxide than allowed for the past seven years, endangering public health.
4. Monitoring and penalty provisions of the law
An opportunity has been missed to grant broader powers to the inspection authority, enabling it to act effectively and preventively. In practice, the inspection often fails to carry out activities, citing a lack of authority to act under the Air Protection Law. Similarly, the law’s repressive mechanisms, which should involve stricter penalties for polluters, do not foresee sanctions for every violation of obligations, either by operators or, even less so, by responsible individuals in state authorities. This means that many of the obligations of operators and competent authorities will be reduced to their “good will,” as there are no sanctions for non-compliance.
5. The interested public is no longer interested
Although the provisions of the previous law, in addition to the definition of the term “interested public,” did not further specify rights and obligations, it is unjustified to remove this term from the new law. On the contrary, it is necessary to ensure, through this and other laws, the right of the interested public to exercise access to justice rights and the right to participate in decision-making processes, as in the new Air Quality Directive.
Citizens deserve a better law
Citizens of Serbia are in need of a law that effectively addresses air pollution issues, not a law that only formally meets the requirements for alignment with EU legislation. The EU adopted a new Air Quality Directive in 2024, while the Ministry of Environmental Protection is only now presenting a new law to the public, which only partially ensures compliance with the Directive from 2008. Data on pollution and its effects on human health speak volumes about what has been done in the past 16 years.
Signatories of the statement:
Belgrade Open School, Belgrade
Renewables and Environmental Regulatory Institute, Belgrade
Association of Young Researchers Bor
New Path, Kraljevo
Local Response, Valjevo
Team 42, Leskovac
Safer Chemicals Alternative (ALHem), Belgrade
Environment improvement center, Belgrade
Centre of Modern Skills, Belgrade
Center for Green Politics, Belgrade
Environment Engineering Group, Novi Sad
The Ministry of Space, Belgrade
Young Researchers of Serbia
National Environmental Association, Belgrade
New Planning Practice, Belgrade
Kraljevo Development Center, Kraljevo
Regional Association of Private Forest Owners “Omorika”, Priboj
RES Fondation, Belgrade
Green Wave, Čačak
WWF Adria – Serbia, Belgrade