On Thursday, March 17th, during the duration of the public discussion into the E-space reform Policy concept paper (Policy concept paper on Spatial and Urban Planning Reform in the Republic of Serbia) the documentation displayed for public discussion was removed from the website of the Ministry and the e-Consultation portal. 

In this way, the public is prevented from participating in the public discussion, and by removing the material from the Internet (where it was only available) the Ministry acted contrary to the Conclusion of the Committee for Economy and Finance of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the established Public Discussion Programme. 

With this open letter, we call on the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure to inform the public without delay whether the public discussion has been interrupted and, if so, for what reason, and to post the notice on their website. 

In order to ensure compliance with regulations, inclusion of best practices and protection of the public interest, we propose to the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure that, after the formation of the new Serbian Government, to start consultations on this reform in accordance with the law and to enable all stakeholders to participate equally in the process. The document, released on February 25th and then removed from the internet, could be considered as one of the options during consultations, but should not be sent to the Government for adoption because it was drafted in a procedure that is not in accordance with the law and which failed to adequately address all challenges of reforming the urban and spatial planning system. 

We invite public administration bodies, academic institutions,  associations of citizens, individuals and other citizens to join this initiative and support the request for the opening of a broad public consultation on reform of the urban and spatial planning system in accordance with the law, and after the formation of the New Government of Serbia. 

An open letter to the Ministry was sent by the following associations and individuals: New Planning Practice, Mirjana Jovanovic, Belgrade Open School, "Urban hub" Ltd. Arandjelovac, Milica Lukic, graduated Spatial Planner from Faculty of Geography – University of Belgrade, Jelena Jerinić, Professor of The Faculty of Law at Union University in Belgrade, Association of Novi Sad Architects, Renewables and Environmental Regulatory Institute, Ministry of Space, Andjelka Jevtovic, PhD. Ind. The landscape. Arch, President of the Serbian Association of Landscape Architects. 

Recall in more detail what kind of document it is and listen to suggestions for its improvement on the recording of the press conference.

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