Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic said Wednesday that the new law on capital market would equalize the rights of domestic and foreign investors.

Opening a conference on the capital market and protection of investors' rights, Cvetkovic said that the new law would be protecting small shareholders and relevant by-laws should render the market more transparent.

He pointed out that the law had been adopted on November 17, 2011, and was fully in line with the EU directives and international law.

He stressed that the new legal framework for the capital market in Serbia was complemented with the companies and takeover acts.

Ever since the beginning of its term, the Serbian government has been working on some very important legislation for the country, including the ones regulating the capital market, Cvetkovic said, adding that the new set of financial laws would help alleviate the negative impact the global recession had on Serbia.

Cvetkovic noted that the new legislation was fully regulating the work of the Securities Commission, which would now have more opportunities and greater authority in monitoring participants in the capital market.

U.S. Charge d'Affaires in Belgrade Lee Litzenberger said that the capital market, together with financial institutions and a system of regulatory supervision, improves the mobilization of savings in the economy, its distribution and investment in the real sector.

Litzenberger said that the financial crisis had shown that developing economies should diversify their financial systems and lessen their dependence on bank funding.

He added that the United States, via USAID, helped the Serbian government draft the law on capital market and accompanying by-laws.

Minister of Agriculture, Trade, Forestry and Water Management Dusan Petrovic said that the acquisition of candidate status is proof of the great changes Serbia has accomplished in its entire system, including the protection of competition.

Petrovic explained that competition is one of the fundamental issues when it comes to restructuring our society, bearing in mind that the EU is a free market and advancing towards the membership means achieving European standards in this area.

He observed that by limiting margins on essential foodstuffs small retailers were not forced to shut down their businesses, large supermarkets did not lose their sway and the prices of basic foodstuffs remained stable, which is beneficial for citizens.

Petrovic underlined that Serbia is implementing important measures to liberalise its foreign trade regime, noting that its trade with Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia has been greatly facilitated, which shows that Serbia is not afraid of competition.

Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Vincent Degert stressed that Serbia has taken important steps in terms of competition protection and adopted almost all the necessary regulations.

As for the policy of merging companies, Degert said that Serbia has a legal framework harmonised with EU regulations, but that certain opposing regulations are problematic, noting the example of the temporary measure to limit the margin.

He observed that the Commission for the Protection of Competition should not deal with pre-emptive measures only, but should also apply repressive measures.

Degert stated that efforts to further liberalise economy must be continued because certain companies have a dominant position in the transportation, energy and telecommunication sectors.

He underscored that rules and regulations that are to be adopted must be applicable and that there has to be coordination of national bodies in this area with EU bodies dealing with competition.

President of the Commission for the Protection of Competition Vesna Jankovic stated that last year the Commission declared fines for breaching the rules of competition amounting to RSD 3.2 billion.

Jankovic stressed that transparent, predictable and non-discriminatory law enforcement is the fundamental and the best way of promoting the protection of competition.

The essence of competition protection is the creation of conditions for a market game, which implies punishments in case it is breached, she explained.

Raising awareness and antimonopoly rules are one of the main pillars of a modern and contemporary economy, and citizens benefit the most from it, she added, noting that the protection of competition is one of the few areas in Serbia that have been fully harmonised with EU rules.