The presentation of the results achieved within the PLAC Project thus far were presented at the sixth coordination meeting with beneficiaries, held 17 December 2015.
Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Oskar Benedikt said he was impressed with the pace of negotiating process and congratulated PLAC Project, which supported the process, on its results as well as Serbian European Integration Office which coordinated the entire process.
Marija Pejcinovic Buric, Team Leader of the PLAC Project, reminded that the Project was designed to assist Serbia on its EU accession path. “Project’s primary task is to harmonise and prepare legal regulations, although the implementation is equally important and requires adequate administrative structure and inter-sectoral cooperation,” she said, thanking the beneficiaries on their cooperation and announcing numerous activities in the coming six months.
Vladimir Medjak, Assistant Director at SEIO, stressed the importance of the PLAC implementation period, that is the fact that it was launched in July 2013, whereas the screening process followed two month later, in September 2013, resulting in launching of the negotiations in January 2014.
He then went on to present project activities and results from the beneficiaries’ point of view, saying that thus far, 85 expert were engaged in 11 chapters, including chapters 27, 11, 12 and 23, which stand out among other chapters due to their political importance and the extent of the acquis. More than 100 documents have been prepared, while some of them will serve to fulfil the benchmarks. “PLAC Project serves as an example of the assistance made available in a swift, flexible and quality manner – over 20 institutions, direct beneficiaries of the Project, received exactly what they needed,” he said, adding he was hopeful to see the next PLAC reaching the level of its predecessor, which raised the bar rather high.
Tatjana Stamatovic of the Ministry of Health said that the PLAC Project and its team were marked by enthusiasm and understanding of the beneficiaries’ needs.
“If it weren’t for PLAC Project, the screening process wouldn’t be this successful,” said Borislav Knezevic of the Commission for Protection of Rights in Public Procurement Procedures, thanking the PLAC Project on its support.
Representatives of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, Ministry of Mining and Energy, Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection and Ministry of Justice expressed their satisfaction with the support received within the Project and the cooperation with Project Team.
Tanja Cincar Knezevic, Programme Manager at the EU Delegation to Serbia, said the Project was demanding and complex, and noted she was pleased with the number of beneficiaries’ positive impressions. “Cooperation is the key to successful project,” she said.
