This brief has made as a part of Towards a Smart Staff Retention Policy for the Sustainable EU Integration of Serbia.

Članak Towards a Smart Staff Retention Policy for the Sustainable EU Integration of Serbia se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

Public administration reform in Serbia, having entered a new stage with the endorsement of the Public Administration Reform Strategy and its Action Plan for implementation, aims, inter alia, at establishing a harmonised and merit-based civil service system and at improving human resource management.

With endorsement of the PAR Strategy, Serbia defined its strategic framework and direction of a broader public administration reform, which encompasses all levels of governance. The Strategy defines the principles of the reform process emphasising decentralisation, depoliticisation, professionalisation, rationalisation and modernisation of public administration.

This is third Policy Brief that has been made within Partnership for Public Administration Reform and Public Services in Serbia – PARtnerships, two-year project implemented by two main partners – European Policy Centre (CEP) and European Movement in Serbia (EMinS). 

Članak Human resources at the local level se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

However, a more detailed reading of the report reveals certain deficiencies of the system, especially regarding depoliticisation and professionalisation of public administration, the introduction of a merit-based recruitment system, improvement of public policy making, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, et cetera. In the new issue of CEP Insight, we analyse the EC’s assessment of Serbia’s results in the field of public administration reform – one of the pillars of the Enlargement Strategy alongside the rule of law and economic governance.

Članak (Un)success of Public Administration Reform in Serbia se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

One of the lessons learnt from previous enlargement waves is the need to complement the politics of conditionality – that is, Brussel’s traditional ‘carrot and stick approach’ – with the politics of civic pressure – whereby the governments in the Balkan countries are ‘squeezed’ between civil society demands and an uncompromising European Commission.

In this Policy Brief, Milena Lazarevic and Corina Stratulat review the origins of civil society involvement in the public sector reforms leading to a country’s accession to the European Union. The search for civil society allies represents a promising break with the legacy of previous accessions in which governments were the Commission’s only trusted interlocutors. To avoid (or at least mitigate) the possibility of backsliding on reforms as it occurred in a number of Central Eastern European countries after their EU entry, the Commission is wisely investing now into the politics of bottom-up pressure for the Balkan aspirants.
The authors also draw lessons from recent steps taken to ensure a more transparent, formal and structured dialogue with civil society in all the countries of the region, and to boost the skills, knowledge and know-how of civil society organisations in the PAR area.
To that end, they recommend that, for each Balkan aspirant, the European Commission should:

• Agree with the lead PAR authority on a uniform practice of publishing the agenda and minutes of each PAR Special Groups (PAR SG) meeting.
• Decide on a common, structured approach to the organisation of preparatory consultations with civil society ahead of each PAR SG meeting.
• Recommend that the government make all reports produced during the PAR process publicly available (both those produced by the EU’s missions/experts and those prepared by national institutions) to increase accountability and stimulate domestic policy debates.

This policy brief was originally published by European Policy Centre – EPC, as part of collaboration with the Think for Europe Network, under the framework of the WeBER project.

Članak Balkan Enlargement and the politics of civic pressure se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

At the same time, in countries in transition there is a distinct need for the involvement of citizens and civil society in the oversight over public finances as a consequence of insufficiently developed external mechanisms of control and non-affirmed concept of financial government accountability. This Study, leaning on the extensive comparative practices and domestic experiences, […]

At the same time, in countries in transition there is a distinct need for the involvement of citizens and civil society in the oversight over public finances as a consequence of insufficiently developed external mechanisms of control and non-affirmed concept of financial government accountability. This Study, leaning on the extensive comparative practices and domestic experiences, researches the possibility for intersecting those needs in context of external audit in the Republic of Serbia and provides readymade recommendations for the State Audit Institution in Serbia for ensuring involvement of citizens and civil society in the external audit process.

This policy brief was published with CEP Study, written by Milena Lazarević, Nebojša Lazarević, Amanda Orza, Miloš Đinđić and Svelana Đuković.

Članak Civil Society and Citizens in the External Audit Process se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

How to get the results in public policy? Is civil society in Serbia able to contribute by engaging in monitoring and evaluation processes?

In the current circumstances which demonstrate a clear lack of constructive opposition on the political scene and a deficiency of critical public, as well as citizens’ disinterest in becoming more active in social issues, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are expected to take the responsibility of presenting facts and arguments, developing critical thinking and mobilising citizens. Moreover, the European integration process and the accession negotiations with the EU require additional engagement of CSOs by providing knowledge from their areas of expertise and by acting as a corrective mechanism to the government. At the same time, CSOs are confronting financial challenges: foreign donors, the biggest source of support to the CSOs in Serbia, are gradually withdrawing and hence it is necessary to think of the new CSO sustainability models.

The aim of Study written with this policybrief is to highlight the aspect of monitoring and evaluation in the policy-making process, which is much neglected in Serbia. The study aims to demonstrate the importance of monitoring and evaluation for quality and transparency of decision-making: first, by analysing the conditions of civil society organization (CSO) participation in the sectors of public administration and social policy and employment in Serbia; second, by analysing the capacity of line ministries and general government administration in Serbia for conducting monitoring and evaluation tasks. Comparative analysis and comprehensive research are used to show good examples and practices of EU member states, with the aim of providing ideas and recommendations for establishing policy monitoring and evaluation in Serbia, as well as for more important and more constructive engagement of CSOs in this regard.

Authors: Sena Marić, Jelena Žarković Rakić, Ana Aleksić Mirić and Milena Lazarević.

Članak Getting results in Public Policy se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

The objective of this study is to shed light on the relevance of policy making and coordination for EU membership negotiations as well as negotiations within the Council of the EU after accession, in hope of creating a stronger incentive for domestic policy makers to address the deficiencies of these systems as early as possible in the accession process.

Članak Policy Making and EU Accession Negotiations se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

Within the EU integration process, Serbia has to comply with the minimum EU standards pertaining to environmental assessment of industrial and infrastructural projects, as well as planning documents.

These procedures are of immense importance for prevention and reduction of adverse environmental effects connected with human activities. What are the existing institutional solutions and capacities of the public administration with regard to implementation of the environmental assessments? To what extent does the public participate in the procedure? Is the implementation of the environmental assessments in Serbia in compliance with the EU standards? Based on comprehensive analysis, with a focus on environmental assessment of projects at the local level, the study provides answers to these and other related questions and also provides recommendations for further improvements of the procedures.

This Policy Brief was written with Study that was conducted within the project “Think-Act-Impact”, jointly implemented by the European Policy Centre in Belgrade, the Ecological Centre “Habitat” and the association of citizens Serbia on the Move. Project is financially supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Belgrade and co-financed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of the Government of Republic of Serbia.

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Serbia is facing serious challenges in the field of environmental protection and harmonizing its standards with those of the European Union. To overcome these challenges, it is necessary to spend at least 10 billion euros.

Currently, Serbia spends less than 0.5% of its GDP on environmental protection, which is below the average sum allocated in the EU and far less than the amount allocated by the countries of Central and Eastern Europe during their accession process. Before the share of share of GDP allocated for environmental protection increases, it is important to have a quality system of planning and utilization of funds designated for environmental protection.

This policy brief provides an overview of the current situation in terms of financing environmental protection at the local level and recommendations for overcoming the identified issues. The brief is based on the policy research in which official documents and information from state institutions and (145) local self-governments, as well as responses to questionnaires sent by the officers from (92) local self-governments and representatives (97) of environmental civil society organizations were analysed.

Članak Local Financies and the Environment se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

The recent announcement by the President of the European Commission (EC), Jean-Claude Juncker on EC’s plan to prepare a Strategy for a successful EU accession of Serbia and Montenegro as frontrunner candidates in the Western Balkans in 2025 perspective is very important for Serbia and the rest of Western Balkans. His speech represents the first occasion when an EU representative mentioned even a possible date for EU’s future enlargement – 14 years since the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Thessaloniki, almost 8 years since Serbia lodged its membership application, and 4 years since the accession negotiations with the EU were opened.

Aside from Juncker’s announcement, it is noticed that some additional steps have been taken recently that highlight greater attention in the EU towards the Western Balkans. In the new CEP Insight, ambassador Duško Lopandić,  CEP Council Member, writes about this new situation and what does it mean for Serbia.

Članak Possible Date for EU Accession and the Years Ahead se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

The interaction between the EU and Serbia is expected to increase in the following phases of the EU accession process. However, the research on how Serbia is pursuing its interests in Brussels is rather scarce and at the same time there is very little policy debate on that issue.

Serbia has been progressively increasing its engagement with the EU for more than a decade. This has enabled it to
get itself well acquainted with the work of the EU institutions, the EU laws and the particularities of the EU association/accession process. Having in mind that the interaction between the EU and Serbia is expected to increase in the upcoming phases, this research by the European Policy Centre (CEP) aimed to explore Serbia’s current administrative, financial and lobbying capacities at the EU level in the context of Serbian EU accession negotiation process, in order to acquire a comprehensive understanding of how Serbia is pursuing its interests in Brussels today and whether (and how) it could use experience gained during the previous decade to its advantage.

This policy brief was published with CEP Study: Serbia’s pursuit of interest in the EU -Administrative, Financial and Lobbying Capacities.

Članak Serbia’s Pursuit of Interests in the EU se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

Serbia is facing serious challenges in the field of environmental protection and harmonizing its standards with those of the European Union.

To overcome these challenges, it is necessary to spend at least 10 billion euros. Considering the scope of competencies, inadequate capacities and different practices of municipalities and cities, the issue of financing environmental protection at the local level deserves special attention. This Policy Brief relies on the results of the analysis of the previous Brief and contains an analysis of the programs that use money from environmental funds, a review of the consent given by the competent ministry to the mentioned programs, as well as other findings and recommendations for improving the existing situation in this area.

Članak Financing Environmental Protection at the Local Level se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.