Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic stated Wednesday that the law on restitution should be adopted at the first autumn parliament sitting, and expressed belief that the law will be a proper and realistic solution tailored for Serbia.

"Serbia should resolve this issue primarily for itself, and the adoption of this law is important for our country's European perspective," Djelic said at the first European legal and political forum dubbed 'Correcting historical injustice with restitution of property in Serbia: How and When?'.

Djelic said that the country is ready for essential solutions through a discussion which will ensue in the summer months.

"Our community's goal must be a quality law, which, immediately after its adoption in the fall, would start being implemented," Djelic stressed.

The topics of the first European legal and political forum are the issue of property restitution in Serbia and possible solutions, and the participants include Property Restitution Network Coordinator Mile Antic, Chairman of the EU Integrations Committee Laszlo Varga, property rights expert from the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) Milan Parivodic, and economic advisor to the Serbian prime minister Jurij Bajec.

Degert: Serbia has to pass bill on restitution

Serbia has to pass a bill on restitution as soon as possible, and challenges entailed in that process should not be used as an excuse for further delays, Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Vincent Degert stated on Wednesday.

At the first forum on restitution held at the Serbian Assembly, Degert said that the EU does not impose a model in which the restitution will be carried out, and that the countries should decide on their own in which way they will return the confiscated property.

According to him, the main criteria governing the process of restitution should be the rule of law, social justice and that there is no discrimination. Degert added that the return of property in Serbia should be sustainable in macroeconomic terms and should not place an additional burden on the country's budget.

Degert underlined that little has been done in terms of the return of nationalized property. He recalled that the Serbian parliament has already adopted the Law on Restitution of Property to Churches and Religious Communities, the law on registering restitution claims, while the Law on Planning and Construction envisages legalization of property titles.

Degert underlined that Serbia needs an accurate estimate of the value of confiscated property, and added that current estimates run from EUR 1 billion to EUR 150 billion, both sums being unreal. German Ambassador to Serbia Wolfram Maas drew attention to the fact that unresolved property issues put off foreign investors.

He said that a compromise has to be reached, since all the expectations of the rightful owners cannot possibly be met. Maas emphasized that Germany stands ready to offer Serbia a necessary assistance as regards passing of a bill on restitution, drawing on the experiences of other countries in transition that have already solved that problem and its own.