02.04.2016.

Minister of Defence meets the leadership of the Municipality of Cuprija

Defence Minister Zoran Djordjevic and his associates visited today Cuprija, where he talked with the President of the Municipality Ninoslav Eric and his deputy Ilija Paunovic about taking over the Military Club in that city and a part of the "Miodrag Novakovic Dzudza" barracks.

- We talked with the President of the Municipality about the plans of the Ministry of Defence regarding the facilities of interest for the local government. When it comes to the Military Club, it is in the Master Plan and is for sale, while the barracks are necessary to the Armed Forces for the time being, according to the judgment of the General Staff. The local government will send additional request to our ministry, and the Real Estate Council will reconsider the needs with the General Staff and take a stand about this facility – the Minister said after the meeting.

He explained that the remark of the management of that municipality, and other local governments also have some, is that the estimated cost of the Military Club is high and pointed out the following:

- The Republic Directorate for Property has an idea to organize a roundtable in Serbia in order to hear the local self-governments, to see what problems they have and what they would offer as a solution. In any case, the military is willing to offer assistance to the local governments, since it would certainly encourage the local businesses and industries and their development.

In the last two years, the Municipality of Cuprija has repeatedly addressed the Ministry of Defence with a clearly expressed interest in taking over the Military Club, but with a remark on the estimated value. In this regard, they requested the assessment of an expert at the expense of the municipality, to which they were not given consent. The last meeting with the representatives of the Municipality of Cuprija was held on 6 October 2015 and it was concluded that the municipality will request that the office of the Tax Administration in Cuprija reconsider its last assessment.

The documentation shows that the offered study on the army of Serbia was submitted on 9 March 2009 to the Republic Directorate for Property, and that the latest assessment of the market value as of November 2014, to which the Ministry of Defence declared positive, amounted to EUR 1,512,299.52.

The meeting at Cuprija was attended by State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence Nenad Neric, Deputy Training Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, Brigadier General Jelesije Radivojevic, representatives of the Department for Infrastructure –Division for the preparation of real estates according to the Master Plan and representatives of the "Pasuljanske livade" Joint-Service Training Range.