The European Union has launched on 4th of July 2017 a one and a half year long Twinning project “Improving capacities and capabilities within the prison system in the Republic of Serbia’“

worth 1 million EUR aimed at improvement of the prison system of Republic of Serbia through transfer of experiences, expertise and good practices developed in the EU member countries’ prison systems.

The main objective of the Twinning Project is strengthening capacities for training, education and employability of convicted persons and improving living and working conditions within the prison system in the Republic of Serbia. The Project is dedicated to the improvement of organisational and technical capacities of the Centre for Training and Vocational Education in Niš for further preparation and delivery of the training programmes for the staff employed within the system of enforcement of criminal sanctions.

To raise the awareness and the involvement of the civil society regarding the challenges faced by the former prisoners in the process of the preparation for release and transition to a decent life in freedom a round table was organized today, 7th of December 2017, in partnership with The University of Nis, Faculty of Law. The participants were judges, prosecutors, representatives of the Municipality and social services, members of non-governmental organizations and specialists from Administration for Enforcement of Penal Sanctions, experts from Germany and University professors. The debates was focused on sharing the best practices in the area of post release arrangements performed in the Republic of Serbia and in the EU Member States. The conclusions of the round table will be used to enhance the rehabilitation and reintegration of inmates by promoting more activities in correctional institutions focused on the real needs of the inmates.

The Project is funded by the European Union IPA 2013 Programme funds.

The German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ) is responsible for the project implementation in partnership with Agency of Economic Cooperation and Development on behalf of the Ministry of Justice of Austria and Ministry of Justice Serbia, Administration for Enforcement of Penal Sanctions.

The Contracting authority for this project on behalf of Serbia is the Department for Contracting and Financing of EU Funded Programmes (CFCU, Ministry of Finance), which is responsible for areas of payments, accounting, monitoring and reporting on implementation of project activities.