“Local self-governments have an important role in the implementation and promotion of European policies and values, which is why solidarity, cooperation and timely communication at all levels, from European, to national and local level, are crucial in the process of bringing EU standards closer to Serbian citizens,” Minister Marija Obradović said at an online conference “European Day for Local Self-Governments.”
Recalling that public administration reform, together with the rule of law and economic governance, is one of the three pillars of our country’s European integration process, but also one of the preconditions for EU accession, Obradović stressed that this process is only possible if we have efficient and transparent public administration, which is at the service of citizens and the economy.
She noted that the Ministry ensured the implementation of the Public Administration Reform Strategy, whose vision is the Administration tailored to fit all of us, i.e. the administration that provides quality services to citizens and economic entities and contributes to economic stability, increasing the living standard of citizens.
Minister Obradović stated that EU membership is not an end in and of itself, but that we need to reform society for our own sake. Therefore, the participation of civil society and other interested parties in the preparation of public policies and regulations, as well as monitoring their effects, is one of the most important segments of the reform, an important part of which is the reform of the local self-government system.
“We have a framework, we have set goals, we are working on implementating them, we just need to remain persistent on that path, and be honest with ourselves in terms of the results we achieved,” said Obradović.
The European Day for Local Self-Governments will be held this year for the first time, with the aim of promoting the EU and its values towards local self-government, and for the purpose of exchanging information regarding the current situation in the process of Serbia’s accession to the EU. The event is organized by the SCTM in cooperation with the Ministry of European Integration of Serbia and the EU Delegation to Serbia, and within the Program “Support to Local Governments in Serbia on the Road to the EU – the Second Phase”, funded by the Government of Sweden.
Photo gallery
