The working groups whose work is coordinated by CEP are:

• Working group for Negotiation Chapter 1 (Free movement of goods)
• Working group for Negotiation Chapter 3 (Right of establishment and freedom to provide services)
• Working group for Negotiation chapters 4 and 9 (Free Movement of Capital and Financial services)
• Working group for Negotiating Chapter 8 (Competition)
• Working group for Negotiation Chapter 28 (Consumer protection and health protection)

Članak Coordination of Working groups within the National Convention se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

Under this project, TEN will strengthen cooperation with renowned think tanks from Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Finland, in order to improve the quality of communication on the EU enlargement in the broader framework of the forthcoming re-definition of the EU and its future. Our approach in this project is to advocate not for the plain EU accession but rather for the WB as an entirety that has been going through numerous improvements in the democratic governance and rule of law structures, improvement of the economic governance processes as well as ambitious reform agendas for public administration.

Apart from reaching out to the influential European capitals and engaging with the EU policy scene, TEN will, thanks to the support of this grant, conduct activities to improve our research, communication and advocacy skills. By further increasing our internal capacities, TEN ultimate goal is to make Western Balkan countries substantially involved in the debates and policy solutions pertinent to the future of Europe.

Članak Europeanisation Beyond Process se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

The project directly supported 40 local CSOs and had the aim to strengthen their capacities and to provide mentoring support in the field of application of a comprehensive methodology and tools for monitoring the fact-based public administration reform, which the project had developed. PAR monitoring itself was conducted in 17 local governments (12 from central Serbia, 4 from Vojvodina and the City of Belgrade).

Project activities were grouped into four work packages:

1) WP 1 was included in the activities related to the development of a methodology for monitoring public administration reform at the local level and tools needed for its implementation, involving all relevant actors from the civil sector at the local level, as well as representatives of MDULS and SCTM.

2) WP2 have included capacity building of local CSOs for the application of the developed methodology, as well as monitoring of public administration reform in 17 local governments, which included preparation and publication of 17 individual monitoring reports and one comparative PAR monitoring report in all 17 LGUs.

3) WP3 was focused on regular CSO consultation sessions and advocacy plans and their implementation through public events and closed-door meetings.

4) WP 4 was included in a campaign (street actions and online) which was intended for all citizens in Serbia, was focused on issues of public administration reform at the local level, as well as an open call for citizens ‘contribution to the campaign and the development of the “Book of Citizens’ Experiences”.

The project was funded by the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia within the Civil Society and Media Support Program, which aimed to strengthen participatory democracies and the EU integration process by empowering civil society to actively participate in decision-making. The project was co-financed by the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue.

Here you can find the information about publications and events produced during the project (in Serbian).

Contact: Branko Birač, Project Manager – branko.birac@cep.org.rs

Image by 3D Animation Production Company from Pixabay

Članak Public Administration Monitoring for Better Local Governance se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

In addition, the main goal is to contribute to an efficient, professional, transparent, and service oriented Public Administration, increasing the level of harmonization among the different levels of government; to improve capacity of public administration to achieve better administration capable to implement the EU integration requirements in the area of human resources management.

Članak Strengthening Human Resources Management in Bosnia and Herzegovina se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

The goal of such support is the greater effectiveness of political and economic institutions in these countries. The plan is to provide this type of support in the next three and a half years (starting in 2020) with the available funds to be determined for each fiscal year. When it comes to Serbia, technical assistance is provided by the company “Tetra Tech” from the United Kingdom, together with the European Policy Centre – CEP, in close cooperation with the British Embassy in Belgrade.

Contact person: Ranka Miljenović, Executive Director (ranka.miljenovic@cep-old.local)

Članak British support to reforms in Serbia se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

The Project was implemented by a coalition of 12 organizations engaged in human rights and the development of democracy, as well as professional judicial associations:

1. Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM) (Project Leader)
2. European Policy Centre (CEP);
3. Association of Public Prosecutors and Deputy Public Prosecutors in Serbia;
4. The Network of the Committee for Human Rights in Serbia (CHRIS Network);
5. Judges’ Association of Serbia;
6. Transparency Serbia;
7. Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP);
8. Partners for Democratic Change Serbia (Partners Serbia);
9. Belgrade Centre for Human Rights,
10. Judicial Research Center (CEPRIS);
11. National Parliament Leskovac;
12. Forum of Judges of Serbia.

One of the three main goals that the project aimed to achieve is to establish proactive relationship between the representatives of the judiciary and the citizens and their better acquaintance with the system itself, which would help citizens to better meet and understand their rights, as well as how to reach them. The project aimed to establish this type of relationship through several channels of communication with citizens, which have been adapted to the different social structure of the population, age and education level. This included communication through a digital platform, digital media and blog posts, as well as through local councils in 15 cities and municipalities in Serbia. Led by the spirit of developed democracies, the project wanted to adopt the principle of open dialogue between citizens and the judiciary, and to encourage their greater engagement in local communities. The task of the project was to help citizens to understand their rights, guaranteed by the Constitution, and also to inform citizens how the judicial system works and how judges and prosecutors make fair and rational decisions.

The second goal of the project involved organisations to work on researching and detecting the primary needs of citizens in their everyday practice with the judiciary in Serbia. This activity tried to understand and investigate citizens’ reasons for low level of trust in the judicial system, widely monitoring citizens’ experiences in meeting with the judiciary. As a result of this activity, the coalition on the project created three comprehensive reports that serve as a mean of further public policies formulation that support citizens’ needs.

The last goal of the project was to raise the accountability and integrity of judicial institutions. The project aimed to work with judicial and civil society stakeholders to enhance the integrity and accountability of judicial institutions through an improved methodology of integrity plans and an open procedure for appeals and free citizens’ complaints, making them more transparent, more accessible and engaging citizens themselves.

Contact person: Jovana Knežević, Project Manager (jovana.knezevic@cep.org.rs)

Publications published within the project:

The Report on Monitoring the State in the Judiciary for 2020 (SRB)

The Report on Monitoring the State in the Judiciary for 2021 (SRB)

The Report on Monitoring the State in the Judiciary for 2022 (SRB)

Events held within the project:

Presentation of the Report on the State of the Judiciary for 2021 (SRB)

What is holding back judicial reform? (SRB)

The Report on Monitoring the State in the Judiciary for 2022 (SRB)

Članak Constituencies for Judicial Reform in Serbia se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

This project directly contributed to inclusive and participatory policymaking at the European Union (EU) level by bringing citizens’ input into the formulation and redefinition of EU enlargement policy to the Western Balkans. More specifically, it aimed to engage youth from the Western Balkans in the Future of Europe Debate.

The project consisted of 9 events gathering youth activists, students and academia from the Western Balkans and EU member states. Through moderated discussion at these events, participants provided their ideas and proposals for the development of the EU in the future. Youth also had an opportunity to contribute their thoughts through discussions opened on an online platform. All contributions were given in the form of policy outputs with specific recommendations. At the end of the Project, all of the policy outputs developed served as a contribution from the youth of the Western Balkans to the ongoing debate on the future of Europe.

This project was financed by the European Agency for Cultural, Educational and Audio-Visual Policies through its Europe for Citizens programme.

Contact persons:

• Strahinja Subotic, Programme Manager and Senior Researcher (strahinja.subotic@cep-old.local),
• Andrija Mladenovic, Project Coordinator (andrija.mladenovic@cep-old.local)

See more about the Project’s website – www.mladirini.org. See more about the events we held during the Project here.

Članak Make Future Together: EU and the Western Balkans from the Youth Perspective se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

This Project sought to contribute to the improvement of the enforcement procedure in Serbia through raising citizens’ understanding of and educating them on their rights and obligations in the enforcement procedure in selected three municipalities. (Kragujevac, Pančevo and Kraljevo).

This Project sets out citizens as the main target group and end beneficiary of the project, as the project aims at enhancing their awareness and knowledge about their rights and obligations in the enforcement procedures. The secondary target groups are the selected local self-governments and public utility companies in these municipalities, as owners/providers of municipal services being the largest generators of enforcement procedures at the local level. Finally, the project activities also targeted consumer protection organisations and public enforcement officers within the cites covered by the project.

The overall goal of the Project was to support judicial reform and increase judicial efficiency in Serbia through improving citizens’ understanding of their rights and obligations in enforcement procedures.
To achieve this overall goal, the activities within this Project were directed towards improving the communication and coordination among key actors in enforcement procedures in municipal service provision, and awareness of citizens on the role of local self-governments and public utility companies, and their rights and obligations, in enforcement procedures.

The Project was financially supported through the grant provided by USAID technical assistance project “Rule of Law” which promote the strategic advancement of Serbia’s judicial reform process, increase judicial efficiency, promote access to justice through non-judicial services (public enforcement officers), and build the capacity of institutions in the judiciary outside of the court system.

Članak Raising the level of citizens’ understanding of their rights and obligations in the enforcement procedure at the local level se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.