Ministry denies not allowing presentation of Vojvodina

BELGRADE - The Serbian Foreign Ministry denies allegations about it not allowing the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina to be presented at a forthcoming conference of European regions at Serbia's Mission to the EU in Brussels.

According to a statement from the Foreign Ministry, the European Affairs Fund of AP Vojvodina had addressed the Foreign Ministry with a request that it should organize an exhibition of paintings by Serbia's acclaimed late artist Milan Konjovic as part of the Open Days event that is taking place in Brussels on October 6-9, but it was estimated that the security levels called for could not be ensured.

The proposal would have the exhibition put up in the hall on the ground floor on the premises of the Mission of the Republic of Serbia to the EU on October 7-9.

"Since the exhibits in question are works of art of great value, created by one of the best Serbian artists of the past century, competent services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs carried out a security assessment to determine possible risks, and it was found that the premises of the Serbian Mission to the EU in Brussels do not meet security requirements needed to organize the exhibition," the statement reads.

Provincial Secretary for Interregional Cooperation and Local Self-Government Branislav Bugarski said at a press conference in Novi Sad on Wednesday that the Serbian Foreign Ministry had not given permission to the diplomatic mission of Serbia in Brussels to organize a presentation of AP Vojvodina.

This year we did not get the permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to organize the presentation within our mission office under the pretext that it poses a security risk to the mission, Bugarski said.

The Ministry...