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On July 6, 2023, in the organization of the Chamber of Health Institutions of Serbia, representatives of the Office of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, Sofija Radojičić and Olgica Radovanović held training on the application of the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance and the Law on Personal Data Protection. There was a discussion during and after this training, attended by 150 people, and moderated by Marin Cetinić, which resolved numerous doubts regarding the application of both laws under the Commissioner's jurisdiction. Special emphasis was placed on solving the problems faced by Information Officers in their daily work, and also on the abuse of the right to free access to information of public importance.

Belgrade, July 4, 2023.

The public presentation of the survey "Citizens' perception of personal data protection" (version in Serbian only) conducted by the agency Kantar Srbija / TMG Insights during April and May of this year, was held today for numerous representatives of public authorities, the non-governmental sector, and journalists at the Mona Plaza Hotel in Belgrade.

In his opening address, Commissioner Milan Marinović pointed out that the results of the survey show that almost half of the citizens are familiar with the work of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection and that the majority have a positive attitude towards this institution and believe that it can help them ensure the protection of personal data. He also recalled the results of the first wave of public opinion polls conducted in 2020, and the media campaign called "Keep it Personal."

Senior Governance Advisor and Head of Section in the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Agnes Bodens, stated that the right to privacy is an essential human right that is now more important than ever and that the OSCE will continue to support the Commissioner in further raising citizens' awareness of personal data protection.

The survey results show that the majority of Serbian citizens (60%) noticed that during the last year, there has been a lot more talk about personal data protection. Citizens are most interested in who can ask for their personal data, who they can turn to in case of misuse, what would their rights be, and what are all the threats to personal data.

In the end, the Commissioner stated that such surveys are necessary because it is a good way to make a cross-section of the situation and that we should also consider surveying special target groups. He also emphasized that we are steering in the right direction and expressed his expectation that the OSCE will, in due course of time, support the implementation of new surveys and campaigns for raising public awareness of personal data protection. He also pointed to the fact that the figures from the survey confirm that citizens' trust in the institution of the Commissioner is growing and appealed to citizens to be careful when giving their personal data to others.

Both public opinion polls (the first from 2020, and the second from 2023), as well as the public campaign "Keep it personal." (2022), were conducted in cooperation with the OSCE Mission to Serbia and the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection within the multi-year project of the Mission "Consolidating the process of democratization in the Security Sector in Serbia", financed by the Government of Sweden.

You can download the full version of the Report here:  Citizens' Perception of Personal Data Protection in 2023

Belgrade, June 30, 2023.

The workshop "Importance of Access to Environmental Information for the Improvement and Protection of the Environment" was held today, in the Blue Center Belgrade conference room no. 1, organized by the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection with the support of the OSCE Mission to Serbia. The workshop was also an opportunity to present the current situation in the area of availability of environmental information and highlight the new powers of the Commissioner in situations where environmental information is refused to the public, and what are the obstacles in exercising the right to access environmental information, i.e. how to overcome them and improve the situation in that field.

In the opening address, the workshop was opened by Milan Marinović, Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, and Ambassador Jan Bratu, Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, who emphasized the significance of raising public awareness about the importance of protecting and preserving the environment and presented the new ways to realization of the public's right to access environmental information after the adopted amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance.

The workshop brought together representatives of the academic community, public authorities engaged in environmental protection at the state and local level, interested members of the public, representatives of the Commissioner's Office, civil society organizations, and journalists who report on the environment and climate change.

On this occasion, the publication "Exercising the Right to Access Environmental Information" (version in Serbian language only) was presented by Slavoljupka Pavlović, Acting Assistant Secretary-General in the Sector for Complaints and Enforcement in the Field of Access to Information related to the first pillar of the Aarhus Convention, which is included in the publication. Amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance gave the Commissioner new powers when environmental information is refused to the public, and prescribed the new obligations of local authorities to provide environmental information to the public as soon as possible.

It was pointed out that one of the main problems is the high percentage of administrative silence of the authorities regarding requests for access to environmental information. Also, there is a high percentage of non-implemented decisions of the Commissioner's orders to disclose environmental information. Thanks to the amendments to the Law and the unblocking of the mechanisms for the enforcement of the Commissioner's decisions, that problem has been eliminated.

At the end of the workshop, the actors concluded that without access to environmental information, there is no public participation in decision-making as one of the necessities for a good definition of public policies, and the adoption of strategies and appropriate measures for environmental protection.

The event is realized within the Project "Application of the Aarhus Convention and Access to Information of Public Importance".