Water is important, so is nature, the laws are great, and the Minister is the most successful ever in the field of ecology. That is why she sought the reasons for the amendments to the Law on Nature Protection and the Law on Waters in the dim and distant past.
“The first ideas about the need for nature protection in Serbia date back to the 14th century, when in 1349, Article 123 of the Dušan's Code forbade Sasim miners from cutting down forests, i.e. established the obligation to plant in places where the forest was cut down.“
During the first day, MPs continued along those lines.
“Water is the most important source of life. There will be water without man, but there won’t be man without water. When wells dry up, when springs dry up, when rivers dry up, when lakes dry up, only then will we appreciate the value of water.“
”More than two thousand years ago, philosophy, as one of the most important sources of human knowledge and cognition, originated on the topics of nature. The most important philosophers, the first ones, the founders of philosophy, Xenophanes, Protagoras and Tagore and others, dealt with the topics of nature.“
On the second day, when the project on the loan for the introduction of district heating in Kragujevac was discussed, the topic seemed to be a report on the work of the Minister.
“Honourable Minister, you had quite a handful of work when you took over the department you were given, but somewhere in your political resume, there is the fact that you have responded to all the challenges you faced.“
“I would also like to say that what Novak Đoković is doing in the field of world tennis, you, our Minister, are doing in Serbia in the field of environmental protection.“
“Many thanks to Mrs. Irena Vujović, our minister, who achieved more in a year than someone else could have achieved in ten years.”
“The Government of Serbia and our President are pursuing a responsible policy, taking into account all the agreements and laws that we are discussing here. Ecology and agriculture, energy, health, security are taken into account, because I want us to leave to our citizens a modern, even stronger Serbia.“
The request of several opposition parties and the non-governmental sector, to withdraw the amendments to the Law on Waters, was not mentioned. The MPs did not share the view that certain articles of the law on the lease of public waters and waterside land open the door to corruption by direct agreement, so 171 out of 173 people present voted in favour of the Law.
For the Open Parliament, Mirjana Nikolić