The basic motive for adopting public policies and regulations is to improve some segment of citizens’ lives and improve business conditions.
In November 2021, the Government of the Republic of Serbia adopted the Public Policy Management Program and Regulatory Reform for the period until 2025. Among the goals of the program are the abolition of unnecessary regulations, analysis of the effects and impact on the economy and citizens, improvement of the business environment and reduction of administrative costs, but also the introduction of a gender perspective in the drafting of regulations.
Public policies and regulations affect all citizens, the economy and the non-governmental sector, so the Republic Public Policy Secretariat (RPPS) tried to include as many actors as possible in the Program preparation process in the planning of measures and activities for the continuation of the implementation of the regulatory reform and the improvement of the public policy management, explained Ivana Vukašinović, Assistant Director of the RPPS.
“The Program was developed through a consultative process, with participation of numerous stakeholders from the public and private sectors and civil society. The RPPS is particularly advocating for their participation in all stages of preparation and monitoring of the implementation of public policy documents and regulations. The argument for this claim is the fact that one of the goals of the program concerns the improvement of public participation in the adoption of public policies and regulations”, said Vukašinović and added:
“In the coming period, the RPPS will form a Working Group for monitoring and reporting on the achieved results, which, in addition to the authorities in charge of implementing measures and activities, will also include the business sector and the non-governmental sector, so that they can actively participate in monitoring of the planned reforms and give their suggestions and comments in order to improve this process.”
The analysis of the problem showed that in Serbia, although progress has been made in previous years, there is still room for improving the quality of public policies and regulations. This is primarily reflected in the removal of existing shortcomings such as: regulations that are overburdening for citizens and the economy, insufficient capacities of the public administration to collect, analyse and process data, lack of public policy coordination, as well as insufficient public participation in the creation and monitoring of the implementation of public policies and regulations.
“In the process of formulation of the vision, desired changes and goals, we kept in mind that the main motive for adopting public policies and regulations is the improvement of some segment of citizens’ lives and/or the improvement of business conditions, whether those are micro businesses or large companies. We analysed the issues and tried to find the most adequate solution. The final effect that we want to achieve with this program is to improve the quality of citizens’ lives and the quality of business environment through better quality of public policies and regulations”, emphasized Vukašinović and indicated the following steps:
“In order to achieve this, we will work on regulatory reform that involves improving the business environment and reducing the financial burden for citizens and the economy, strengthening public administration bodies in the field of data collection, processing and analysis, so that the regulations and public policies they enact are based on data and facts and in the service of improving the lives of citizens and the business environment, on better and more responsible planning and capacity development of civil society organizations for participation in the creation of public policies and regulations.”
Ivana Vukašinović concluded that reform is always slow and painful, because it implies a change in patterns, which entails resistance. “Since the adoption of the Law on the Planning System, a lot has been done, but we still have a long road ahead. I am primarily referring to the adoption of the Development Plan of the Republic of Serbia, which is an umbrella planning document with which all hierarchically lower documents should be harmonized, said Vukašinović and added:
“With this Program, we will lay the foundations for its adoption, because we will conduct analyses and initiate a broad social dialogue, so that in the coming period we can approach and draw up the development plan itself. In the domain of regulatory reform, there is still room for simplifying regulations, abolishing unnecessary regulations and reducing the burden on citizens and business. Finally, the RPPS has been investing efforts into the regulatory impact assessment and analysis of the effects of public policy documents. Although significant progress can be seen, there is still room for improving the quality of these processes, and the RPPS will of course remain committed to the task of providing support to public administration bodies in this domain.”
The EU4PAR project continuously provides support to the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, the Republic Public Policy Secretariat and other institutions in this process, and helps in the implementation of other important activities within the framework of public administration reform. You will find more details in the new project newsletter.
The EU also helped establish the eGovernment portal by creating institutional preconditions, donating equipment, creating centralized database registers and developing the eGovernment portal itself.
The European Union’s support for the public administration reform in Serbia is worth over EUR 200 million, from 2000 to this day. The funds intended for public administration are used for the professionalization of administration, the development of electronic services, the management of public finance and the improvement of the work of local self-governments and independent institutions.
Public administration reform is one of the most important elements of Serbia’s EU accession process, and in 2014 it was also placed at the forefront of the negotiations. A modern and professional public administration is a key element for every EU member state in order to effectively implement laws and manage EU funds transparently.
