As part of the implementation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement, the Seventh Meeting of the Ad Hoc Group on Public Administration Reform was held on 10th November 2020, using Webex platform. This meeting is one of the highest level forums discussing topics in the field of public administration reform, between the representatives of the Republic of Serbia and the European Commission. During the meeting, issues related to the strategic framework of public administration reform, development and coordination of public policies, accountability, human resource management, provision of services to citizens and the economy and public financial management were discussed.
Representatives of our administration presented in detail the results of the work of state bodies and institutions on the implementation of the Operational Conclusions of the Previous Meeting held in October 2019, as well as the challenges we faced during the Corona-virus pandemic, showing at the same time the ability to adapt to the specific circumstances caused by the global pandemic. A special interest was expressed in the process of drafting the new Public Administration Reform Strategy and the accompanying Action Plan, further implementation of the Law on Planning System, urgent legislative procedures, establishment of analytical units within the Ministries, adoption of amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance and human resources management. Special praise came from our European partners for the efforts implemented in modernizing the administration and further development of e-government, and in that sense they expressed satisfaction with the adoption of the Program for the Development of e-Government in the Republic of Serbia. In the part related to public financial management, special interest has been shown for the impact of Corona-virus on capital investments and the financial sector, but also for the implementation of the new Law on Public Procurement and Internal and External Audit.
Assistant Minister, Sanja Putnik, who co-chaired the meeting from the Serbian side, expressed thanks to the EU for its continuous and comprehensive support of one of the essential reforms on Serbia’s path to full EU membership, recalling that the EU, as the leading donor in this area, has significantly contributed to building a government tailored to all our citizens, following the latest European standards and practice. In the next period, we expect the finalization of the Operational Conclusions, according to the agreed dynamics, which shall, in accordance with the current practice, be published on the website of the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government.