IV. Analysys and recommendations

F. Public funding

As stated in the Guidelines, public subsidies should be set at a meaningful level to fulfil the objective of providing support, but should not be the only source of income or create the conditions for over-dependency on state support.[1] The OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission have previously expressed concern at the amount of funding provided from public sources to political parties in Serbia.^[2] It was noted that although public funding must be set at a meaningful level, this should not create an over-dependence of political parties and actors on state support. It was therefore recommended that the amounts in question be reconsidered.^[3] There were some changes in the various levels of public support offered in the final 2011 version of the Law, but the OSCE/ODIHR has since reiterated its concern at the risk that the system created by the Law may still create an overdependence of parties on state subsidies, also based on findings from practice, as observed during OSCE/ODIHR election observation missions.^[4] The recommendation to reconsider the level of public funding is therefore reiterated.

[1] OSCE/ODIHR-Venice Commission Guidelines on Political Party Regulation, para 177.

[2] OSCE/ODIHR-Venice Commission 2010 Joint Opinion on the draft law on financing political activities of the Republic of Serbia, para 36; OSCE/ODIHR-Venice Commission 2011 Joint Opinion on the revised draft law on financing political activities of the Republic of Serbia, para 10.

[3] Ibid.

[4] OSCE/ODIHR Final Report of the Limited Election Observation Mission to the Parliamentary and Early Presidential Elections of Serbia, 6 and 20 May 2012, p. 12, where it is also noted that a number of OSCE/ODIHR interlocutors estimated that parties depend on public funding at levels between 70% and 90% of their resources.