Free movement of goods – how far we are from the European Union

Even though it has been “on paper” for a whole decade, the actual level of implementation (and impact) of Financial Management and Control (FMC) in Serbia remains low.

As the free movement of goods is one of the basic principles on which the existence of the EU is based, the harmonisation of legal regulations and procedures covered by the negotiating Chapter 1 is a necessary step towards achieving this strategic goal. Although many EU regulations have been transposed into the Serbian legal system, a large number of European standards have been adopted, and a significant number of conformity assessment bodies have been accredited, the impression remains that more efforts are needed to complete harmonisation in this chapter and to better explain the matter in this area to the real sector of the economy, primarily to small and medium enterprises.

In this regard, this paper aims to present the complex matter covered by the negotiating Chapter 1 in a clear manner, to map the path that products in regulatory terms should pass from production to the placement on the market, and to present perspectives for further development of this area. Accordingly, after the introduction, Sections 2 and 3 describe the issues related to concepts in Chapter 1 in terms of legal regulations and institutional frameworks. Section 4 provides an overview of the practical application of technical regulations and analysis of the current situation, while the final Section 5 presents conclusions and recommendations for improving the current situation in this area.