Greater efficiency in the legislative process, reduction of administrative and financial burdens, and consistent enforcement of regulations would contribute to creating a better business environment in Serbia, according to the results of the legislative practice quality research conducted by the National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED).
The prolonged technical mandate of the previous government for eight months influenced the partial results, making it important for the current electoral process to be efficiently conducted and the new government to be formed in a shorter period.
Goran Kovačević, a member of the NALED Board of Directors, pointed out that the Government of Serbia worked without an adopted plan for the year 2022, resulting in 70% fewer laws being enacted compared to the previous year.
He stated that 60 laws were enacted, with 18 having an impact on the economy, and only one was entirely new, related to social entrepreneurship.
“A quality and predictable legislative process is in the interest of both the economy and local self-governments. That is why NALED initiated the preparation of the Regulatory Index of Serbia (RIS) report over a decade ago, which showed that the adoption of bylaws was and remains the biggest problem in our system.
Therefore, it is essential to focus more on the implementation of laws next year, as they bring us little benefit if bylaws are delayed by a year and a half,” emphasized Kovačević, adding that it is positive that the practice of adopting laws urgently has been discontinued.
As reported by NALED, the most significant progress has been made in transparency and public involvement in the preparation of regulations since the first research. The best result was achieved in 2021 when public debates and consultations were organized for 95% of the laws.
It is noted that this trend was not maintained last year due to the government’s limited work, as there was not enough time for discussion. Public debates were held for every second law, and drafts were available in two-thirds of the cases.
The Regulatory Index also highlights that the administrative burden on the economy, i.e., the time invested in implementing procedures and all costs of fees and charges related to it, amounts to 2.95% of the gross domestic product (GDP). This finding is confirmed by a business survey conducted in 2023, in which 92% of business owners stated that the highest problem in the regulatory environment is the high financial and administrative burden of doing business.
Regarding communication between institutions and citizens, it is noted that ministries, on average, respond to slightly more than half of the inquiries they receive. They are more regular in answering easy questions (68% of all inquiries), and less prompt when it comes to providing information of public importance (44%), even though they are obliged to do so by law.
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