Sweden has increased financial assistance for the development of the civil sector and local governments in Serbia by an additional 5.5 million euros, the Norwegian Embassy in Belgrade announced today.
Of the total amount of additional funds, 3 million euros refers to assistance to civil society organizations, 1.2 million euros to support the development of local self-governments, and 1.36 million euros to the improvement of public procurement procedures.
– Civil society has an important role to play in monitoring and promoting reform efforts. With additional funds, Sweden continues its long-term cooperation with the Belgrade Open School, the Ulof Palme Center and the Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability to support the reform efforts of the Serbian Government and promote democratization, transparency and accountability, as well as EU integration – said the Swedish Ambassador in Serbia, Jan Lundin.
According to him, the continuation of Swedish assistance to civil society organizations in Serbia amounts to around 3 million euros.
In addition, recognizing the importance of the development of local governments in Serbia, Sweden approved additional financial assistance for the development of local administration through the project “Support to local governments in Serbia on the path to EU accession”, implemented by the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities. The total value of the additional contract is around 1.2 million euros.
Given that, it is added, that public procurement has a significant share in the Serbian economy, it is very important to continuously improve not only the legislation, but also the system and manner in which public procurement procedures are conducted in order to ensure better competitiveness.
– That is why the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) has signed an agreement with the National Association for Local Economic Development (NALED) on support in the implementation of the project ‘Efficient public procurement in the service of economic development’ with a total budget of 1.36 million euros.
The head of the development cooperation department at the Swedish Embassy, Ula Anderson, points out that the project aims to promote democratic governance by supporting the establishment of a transparent and accountable public procurement system, improving public financial management and fostering a private-led growth environment.
He added that special attention will be paid to the introduction of environmental criteria in public procurement procedures in order to develop capacities for the so-called “green procurement” which includes energy efficiency, as well as training of public procurement officers at the local level.
As one of the largest bilateral donors, Sweden is helping Serbia move closer to the EU and meet its standards with more than 12 million euros a year, the embassy said, eKapija reports.
