Meeting of the Working Group of the National Convention on the EU for Chapter 8 – Competition Policy held

8 April 2023 – The meeting of the Working Group (WG) of the National Convention on the European Union (NCEU) for Chapter 8 – Competition Policy was held in the premises of the NCEU in Belgrade. Ranka Miljenović, Coordinator of the WG NCEU for Chapter 8, chaired the meeting. The meeting was attended by the NCEU Coordinator, Bojana Selaković, President of the Commission for State Aid Control (CSAC) Vladimir Antonijević with associates, as well as members of the Working Group.

On the agenda of the meeting was the topic of reviewing the situation and plans for the next period in the area of state aid control, with special reference to the criteria for opening negotiations.

The Coordinator of NCEU WG 8, Ranka Miljenović, welcomed the attendees, announced more intensive work of the WG in the coming period and pointed out that this meeting was organised with the aim of familiarizing members of the working group with the activities carried out by CSAC and its plans. The information obtained will greatly contribute to the quality of the contributions to the EC’s Annual Progress Report, which the NCEU prepares for each negotiation chapter.

In the following, Bojana Selaković spoke about the role of NCEU in the process of European integration, as well as the importance of Chapter 8 within the Cluster 2. She pointed out that NCEU will continue to build trust and strengthen dialogue with state institutions, because the common goal is to prepare Serbia as best as possible for EU membership.

Vladimir Antonijević, President of the CSAC, expressed a proactive approach and the need for wider and more intensive cooperation with the NCEU, which could also take place in the process of harmonisation of regulations with acquis / in the form of discussions, comments, and suggestions in the phase of regulations and conduct public hearings/.

The representatives of the CSAC reported in detail to the WG about the activities undertaken to fulfil the criteria for opening this chapter. They also gave and overview of planned activities in the coming period. The Commission regularly prepares and forwards to the Government and the EC annual reports on the granted state aid.

It was concluded that the cooperation between CSAC and NCEU should be intensified through permanent channels of communication, exchange of the relevant information and consultations.