The President and members of the Committee on the Environment held a meeting today with representatives of civil society organizations that are part of the institutional Green Chair mechanism.

Opening the meeting, the Chairman of the Committee on Environmental Protection, Branislav Blažić, emphasized the importance of networking of civil society organizations and the support they provide in the work of this Committee within the established Green Chair mechanism. Blažić emphasized that the cooperation and continuous communication of the Committee on Environmental Protection with civil society organizations promotes his work in the public as well as public in the work of the National Assembly. Citing the activities planned for the coming period, Blažić particularly emphasized the importance of improving the control function of the Board.

Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and Deputy Members of the Committee on Environmental Protection Gordana Comic briefed representatives of civil society organizations on the procedures in the National Assembly regarding the process of passing laws, organizing public hearings and controlling the work of the executive branch. During the working meeting, there were also good examples and experiences of networking of civil society organizations around a common theme, as well as on future coordination and improvement of work within the mechanism of the Green Chair.

The Green Chair institutional mechanism was launched in June 2013, at the initiative of seven civil society organizations: Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence, Belgrade Open School, Center for Modern Skills, European Movement in Serbia, GM Optimist, Environmental Engineers and Young researchers of Serbia. This mechanism involves the participation of representatives of civil society organizations dealing with environmental issues at meetings, public hearings and other activities organized by the Committee on the Environment.