Law on Agricultural Land amendments to be adopted in summary procedure by September 1

The amendment to the Law on Agricultural Land, which should limit the purchase of arable land in Serbia by foreigners, will be adopted by September 1 in a summary procedure, the Ministry of Agriculture confirmed today. The draft law, which should prevent a full liberalization of the trade of land arising from the Stabilization and Association Agreement, has been approved by the Government of Serbia, and the National Assembly should hold a session these days, the ministry said for Beta.

The law has not been been put up for public discussion, but the Ministry of Agriculture points out that they have been cooperating with various agricultural organizations for a year now and that they are satisfied with the proposed amendments.

Not all the details of the new law are known at the moment, but, as confirmed earlier, the main difference is that foreigners will be able to buy only up to two hectares of agricultural land, provided they have had a residence in Serbia for at least ten years and that they are present in the register of active farms.

The law should come into effect before September 1, when the enforcement of the provisions of the Stabilization and Association Agreement equalizing the rights of the residents of Serbia and the EU in buying agricultural land is supposed to start.

By signing the SAA in 2008, Serbia became the only country to take on the obligation, within the process of negotiations about joining the EU, to liberalize its agricultural land market before it becomes a full member, whereas other countries, such as Poland, Croatia and Hungary, are allowed to impose a ban on the sale of land to foreigners for several years following the accession.

Ministarstvo poljoprivrede, šumarstva i vodoprivrede Republike Srbije

Vlada Republike Srbije