More efficient work of Bujanovac municipality with support of the European Union

Bujanovac, 30 January 2014 – Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia, Ambassador Michael Davenport today has handed over certificates (ISO 9001) for Quality Management System QMS and (ISO 14001) Environmental Management System (EMS) to the president of Bujanovac municipality Nagip Arifi.

Bujanovac, 30 January 2014 – Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia, Ambassador Michael Davenport today has handed over certificates (ISO 9001) for Quality Management System QMS and (ISO 14001) Environmental Management System (EMS) to the president of Bujanovac municipality Nagip Arifi, and thus Bujanovac has become one of very few municipalities in Serbia that possess these standards, thanks to the support of the European Union and the Government of Switzerland through the European Partnership with Municipalities Programme EU PROGRES.

Adopted standards imply faster, more efficient and better quality of municipal services for citizens of Bujanovac. In addition, responsibilities of employees and their competences are clearly defined, administration costs should be reduced in certain segments, and municipal governance should be more transparent.

“Bujanovac municipality proved its commitment during entire duration of this complex process through overview of its regulations and provisions and flexibility in work, as well as through shaping local government to respond to all strict requirements of these two standards. With this it increased its chances to win in tenders in public sector. It improved its operative efficiency and reduced mistakes with better control of the process and course of work, as well as with well defined and documented procedures”, Ambassador of the European Union Michael Davenport said today.

“After completing the entire harmonisation process, we got confirmation of independent commission that we had adjusted our work and procedures to modern standards. We can improve Bujanovac only if we always strive towards improvement of the services that we offer to our citizens“, said president of Bujanovac municipality Nagip Arifi.

Ambassador Davenport today has participated in the public debate “Serbia on the path towards the European Union“, on European integration process of the Republic of Serbia, organized by the Government of Serbia Coordination Body for the Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja.

The European Union financially supports the European Partnership with Municipalities Programme – EU PROGRES, with €14.1 million, the Government of Switzerland with €2.5 million, while the Government of the Republic of Serbia allocates €1.5 million. EU PROGRES aims at supporting social-economic development of 25 municipalities in South and South West Serbia. More details about the Programme are available on the website www.euprogres.org.

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