"By deleting Article 13 from the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance, a snowball was released at the top of the mountain that turned into an avalanche. Furthermore, the position of the Administrative Court on the reimbursement of costs has also changed after 15 years, and since then, we have had a systemic abuse of the right. This makes it difficult for government bodies to function (around 4,000 local communities, 1,500 educational institutions, health centers, and others, bringing their functioning into question). At the same time, the functioning of the Commissioner, who acts on complaints from these bodies, has also been jeopardized," said Commissioner Milan Marinović on the occasion of the International Right to Know Day, held today at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia.

He further emphasized that not everything that could have been done has been done, and that what needs to be done is to amend the law and alter the position of the Administrative Court. The Commissioner appeals to the Government and the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia to submit the text of the amendments to this law at the first sitting of the Assembly.

In the opening remarks, representatives of foreign delegations, Mr. Manuel Munteanu, Head of Information, Communication and Press of the EU Delegation to Serbia, and Ms. Augusta Featherston, Acting Head of the Democratization Department of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, also spoke, supporting again this year the Commissioner's institution in its efforts to safeguard and improve this right.

Finally, the Commissioner thanked all employees who contribute to ensuring that citizens do not feel the consequences of abuse of this right to such an extent.

This year, the Commissioner awarded the following bodies with recognition for their contribution to the affirmation of the public's right to know:

• In the category of republican bodies - the National Employment Service;
• In the category of provincial authorities - the Government of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina;
• In the category of local self-government authorities - the Municipality of Veliko Gradište;
• In the category of judicial authorities - the Basic Court in Majdanpek;
• In the category of other authorities - the Primary School "Desanka Maksimović" from Kosovska Kamenica;
• The Commissioner awarded a special recognition/letter of appreciation to the Austrian Development Agency (ADA).
• The main award, for a special contribution to the affirmation of the right to access information (statuette), was not awarded this year.

Acting Assistant Secretary General Slavoljupka Pavlović presented the latest publication, number XIV (in Serbian language only). This year's publication contains the Commissioner's positions and opinions on the events that marked the previous year, which reflected the importance of this right.

At the end of the meeting, Acting Assistant Secretary General Zlatko Petrović pointed out the importance of submitting Annual Reports of Public Authorities, because the effects of the implementation of this law can be seen from these reports.

The symbol of this year's event is a scale, which shows the importance of weighing interests in each individual case.