The European Commission approved the payment of funds in the amount of EUR 13,250,000 to Serbia on the basis of the second Self-Assessment Report on the implementation of the Sector Reform Contract [1] dedicated to public administration and public finance reform for 2017 and the first half of 2018.
Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government Branko Ružić, who is in charge of coordinating public administration reforms, pointed out that many radical changes have been made in the work of public administration and that it was evident that it would never look like it did previously, which nobody liked. “We have provided better services, electronic databases, constant training for officials, work performance checks and, accordingly, possible promotions, better communication… all with the aim of creating a more efficient state apparatus and greater satisfaction and trust among our citizens”, said the minister.
He added that, although a lot had been changed, there was still a lot of work to be done in order for the administration to provide its maximum in each of its segments and that the new Public Administration Reform Strategy 2030, which is currently being worked on, would provide better guidelines.
Depending on the fulfilment of specific objectives, defined in the Public Administration Reform Strategy and accompanying action plans, the European Commission decides on the disbursement of funds on an annual basis, through fixed and variable tranches based on requests, namely on the basis of the Self-Assessment Report.
The aforementioned EUR 13,250,000 represents the second tranche approved to Serbia so far. Previously, at the end of 2017, Serbia submitted the first Self-Assessment Report on the implementation of the 2016 Sector Reform Contract with a request for payment of two fixed and one variable tranche, based on which the European Commission approved a disbursement to the budget of the Republic of Serbia in the amount of EUR 30.5 million over the course of October 2018.
The next report shall be completed in April 2020, when it will be submitted to the European Commission with a request for disbursement of the third tranche. The process of drafting the Report is coordinated by the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government.
The Sectoral Reform Contract was signed on 5 December 2016 and has a total value of EUR 80 million, of which EUR 70 million represents direct budget support. The remaining EUR 10 million are directed towards providing support to the Government of Serbia through projects.