Serbia has fallen eight places and is ranked 70th out of 117 countries in the international survey Open Budget Index, Transparency Serbia (TS) announced today.
In the 2019 survey, Serbia is rated at 40 points, out of a maximum of 100, and the result of this decline is to be classified in the group of countries with “minimal budget transparency”.
Serbia’s rating was five points lower than the world average and three points lower than the 2017 Budget Transparency Survey, when it was nearly 43 and ranked 62nd on the list.
Of the countries in the region evaluated, only Bosnia and Herzegovina scores worse (33), Northern Macedonia scores better (41), while Bulgaria’s best-ranked 71, Croatia and Slovenia have 68, Romania 64, Albania 55 and Hungary 45.
Serbia is by far the worst rated in terms of public participation in budgeting, with only 2 points (world average 14), and Serbia’s ratings are above the world average only in the category of audit oversight (57), which is also considered to be a limited budget openness.
“Significant level of budget transparency” has reached 31 countries this year, with scores of 61 and above, with only six scoring more than 80 points. At the top of the list are New Zealand and South Africa (87) and Sweden (86). On the other hand, as many as three countries have a score of zero – Yemen, Venezuela and Comoros, while Qatar has a rating of 1, and Sudan and Algeria each have a score of 2.
Serbia’s assessment could have been better if the Government and the Assembly had respected their legal obligations and deadlines from the budget calendar when preparing the 2019 budget and considering the final bill, reports TS.
In order to increase the budget openness of Serbia, in addition to adhering to the budget calendar, it is also necessary for the Government to start preparing a semi-annual report on budget execution in accordance with international standards, and the Serbian Parliament to more actively monitor budget execution, the impact of new laws on public finances, implementation of SAI recommendations and to discuss the Fiscal Council’s Fiscal Strategy and Analysis, Politika reports.
