Fabrizi: Local self-governments play a key role in the EU accession process

Local self-governments bear a particular responsibility for good governance and provision of better services to citizens on the basis of principles of transparency and effectiveness, and they play a key role in the EU accession process, said Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Sem Fabrizi at the opening of the Assembly of the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM).

“We are making progress in accession talks; yesterday we opened another two chapters. But local authorities will eventually be responsible for the implementation of 70% of EU legislation,” Fabrizi said and added that 70% of the EU acquis would be implemented at the local level.

“The EU has secured EUR80 million to support reform implementation. A great deal has been done, but there is still much work ahead – decentralisation, promotion of local infrastructure and competitiveness, etc.,” Fabrizi said.

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Over the past two decades local self-governments have grown in importance globally, said Swiss Ambassador to Serbia Philippe Geux, adding that the share of public spending at the local level had followed the same pattern. Also, citizens are increasingly involved in decision-making, he said.

Furthermore, he pointed to challenges faced by local self-governments – understaffed administrations and underpaid civil servants, paired with inadequate financing of local needs and unclear boundaries between the jurisdictions of the state, on one hand, and local self-governments, on the other.

“In this context, the SCTM plays a key role,“ Guex said.

“SCTM is a respected institution with a crucial role – it acts as a link between the central and local levels of government, something like an institutional elevator,” Guex said and added that Serbia developed some good practices when it comes to self-governments turning to citizens for consultation. As an example, he cited Sabac, where a public consultation on how to spend property tax revenue has been launched.

Guex said that the Government of Switzerland had invested nearly EUR8 million in SCTM through various projects, adding that Switzerland would remain a committed partner of the SCTM and local self-governments.