The Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Aleksandar Martinović, PhD, has discussed today with the Ambassador and Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia, Emanuele Giaufret, about the significant progress achieved by Serbia in the field of digitization and development of e-services and further cooperation between the EU and the Ministry in respect of the implementation of Public Administration Reform.
Martinović has pointed out that the development of eGovernment has been a priority of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for years, with the aim of making it easier for citizens to exercise their many rights before public administration bodies and offer them high-quality services. He has stated that the development of local self-governments, especially of those deemed most vulnerable and underdeveloped, is of great importance to the Ministry. He has pointed out that smaller municipalities mostly face the problem of poor local road infrastructure, which not only makes life difficult for citizens, but also greatly affects the development of the economy in those parts of the country.
The Minister told Giaufret that the Ministry had recently allocated budget funds to cities and municipalities for the implementation of various projects, in the amount of RSD 490 million, but that the allocated funds were not sufficient to help all local self-governments, despite the fact that almost all projects were of high-quality and quite significant for their citizens. In this light, the possibilities for further financial support and assistance from the European Union to the Ministry have been considered, with the aim of rehabilitating local roads and improving the socio-economic infrastructure in cities and municipalities.
Martinović has informed Giaufret that the Ministry is intensively working on all priorities under the Public Administration Reform Agenda. A Special Working Group for Monitoring the Situation and Proposing Measures related to the Management of Senior Civil Servants was formed, which, in its new convocation, was additionally strengthened by the representatives of the Republic Secretariat for Legislation, the General Secretariat of the President of the Republic of Serbia and the General Secretariat of the National Assembly, as well as by the representatives of the Ministry of Justice, which confirms the commitment of the Government to seriously and urgently deal with solving this, as well as all other issues of crucial importance for the further progress of PAR.
Giaufret has praised the efforts of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government in the field of development of e-Government and further digitization of public services, which, according to him, are high on the list of priorities of the European Union when it comes to Public Administration Reform. The Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia has assessed that our country has successfully concluded the negotiations for the new Sectoral Budget Support Instrument in the field of Public Administration Reform, which once again confirmed the Ministry’s status as a credible partner in this field. New modalities of cooperation have been discussed, while the political dialogue shall continue within the meeting of the Special Group for Public Administration Reform, which is planned for 21 April of this year.