The European Commission has approved a payment of 13,250,000 euros to Serbia on the basis of the second Self-Assessment Report on the implementation of the Sectoral Reform Contract for public administration and public finances for 2017 and the first half of 2018, the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government announced.
Minister Branko Ruzic, in charge of coordinating public administration reform, pointed out that many radical changes had been made in the work of public administration and that it was evident that it would never again resemble the old one, which no one liked.
“We have provided better services, electronic databases, constant training for civil servants, job checks and, accordingly, possible advancements, better communication…all with the aim of creating a more efficient state apparatus and greater satisfaction and confidence of our citizens”, the minister said.
He said, however, that although much has changed, there is still a lot of work to be done for the administration in each of its segments to maximize, and that a better indication of this will be given by the new Public Administration Reform Strategy 2030, which is currently in progress.
These 13,250,000 euros represent the second approved tranche to Serbia so far. Previously, Serbia submitted at the end of 2017 the first Self-Assessment Report on the implementation of the Sectoral Reform Contract for 2016, requesting the payment of two fixed and one variable tranches, on the basis of which the European Commission approved in October 2018 the payment to the Serbian budget of 30.5 million euros.
The next report will be finalized in April 2020, when it will be submitted to the European Commission with a request for payment of the third tranche, the statement added.
