J. Joksimović: European integration process is not a lullaby, but an alarm clock

April 17 2019 | Belgrade

J. Joksimović: European integration process is not a lullaby, but an alarm clock

“Cohesion policy is a policy of solidarity, as well as a policy of reducing regional inequalities, and we as a country aspiring to EU membership must ensure that no citizen, anywhere in our country, is left out and bypassed by development and growth”, Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimović has stated today.

According to her, the cohesion policy also implies striving to positively reach average growth in European regions, which does not mean that those that are already developed should not develop further, but it means placing focus on areas that are less developed.

“In this way, the EU itself becomes a stronger and global player on an open and demanding market full of big competitors”, said Joksimović opening the conference ‘Territorial cohesion and equal development’, jointly organised by the Serbian Association of Regional Development Agencies – SARDA and the project ‘Support to rural and regional development in the Republic of Serbia’ that is financially supported by the Swiss Government.

Joksimović has stated that the preparation of the law on cohesion policy is what awaits the Ministry of European Integration and Serbia in the European integration process. In that sense, she has emphasised that it is vital to receive positive comments from the European Commission regarding the Action Plan for Chapter 22 – Regional policy and coordination of structural instruments, which was completed in early April, so that preparations of the negotiating position could be launched.

“This is where Regional development agencies, Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities and all actors at the local level will have to give their best, so that we would successfully prepare ourselves for what lies ahead until 2025”, said Joksimović.

She has explained that if there is a credible enlargement strategy published in 2018 that recognises the possibility of Serbia becoming an EU member by 2025, then it is Serbia’s task to maximise its efforts and invest all energy so that the citizens would feel a balanced development and would not be bypassed in the overall growth and development of Serbia.

She has noted that a concrete regional development policy is negotiated within chapter 22, which aims at preparing a candidate country for smooth transfer to the cohesion policy once it becomes a full EU member, adding that she believes that the chapter will be opened next year.

“European integration is a process through which one serious country aspiring to membership, such as Serbia, strives to ensure that no citizen of Serbia, in any part of the country’s territory, is bypassed in the process of development and establishment of development mechanisms, which will make us a more modern and developed country with a higher living standard, higher level of employment and the overall social and economic progress”, stated the Minister.

She has pointed out that Serbia cannot immediately reach the development level of Member States, adding that the goal is to achieve it in the following decades.

Recalling the holding of the joint government session between Serbia and Hungary, Joksimović has emphasised that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on the occasion that, in the previous 25 years, Hungary had managed to approach the European average growth and development and that they expected to advance from a net recipient to a net contributor in several years.

Joksimović has said that Serbia as a candidate country currently receives an average of EUR 200 million in EU grants, and that, when it becomes an EU member, it may have as much as the EU countries in the region have on average, which is around EUR 1 billion a year.

“Those are enormous development funds”, said Joksimović, adding that Serbia as a candidate country has a great potential and that it is undoubtedly the frontrunner in the region regarding the proper use of the pre-accession funds.

She has stated that the European integration process has one excellent – and maybe even the best – dimension because it never acts as a lullaby but as an alarm clock for the society. “You should never get lulled into the old business patterns: not even the Member States are doing it – they are also creating new common policies and new instruments, and then we as a candidate country must run this race fast and adopt new models and ways of doing business so as to achieve a serious and sustainable policy of growth and development”, said Joksimović.

Noting that European elections are ahead and that one of the main topics will be the multiannual budget framework, which is developed on a seven-year basis in the EU, Joksimović has said that the Member States are considering new models of strengthening the cohesion policy.

“Among other things, the candidates will still have the pre-accession funds – IPA 3, and there is currently a debate in the EU whether the IPA 2 model will stay the same: national allocation amounting to around EUR 200 million, including cross-border cooperation…or whether a new system will be created, which will imply a project-based, market and regional competition for applying for the funds from a single fund for candidate countries”, said Joksimović.

Noting that there are some negative aspects, Joksimović has said that it is also a good thing, because it will require everyone, at all levels, to maximise all capacities and potentials, and prepare good projects that will be the ones to bring the largest grants, in that competitive regional format.

Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Serbia Ursula Läubli has said she was glad to attend the conference, which also marks a successful completion of the project of support to rural and regional development in Serbia.

“For almost 30 years, Switzerland has been supporting Serbia’s development, and based on Serbia’s needs, it has been offering its expertise in a simple, concrete and flexible way”, said Läubli, adding that, within this project, they cooperated with local partners in Srem, Šumadija, Kolubara and Mačva, as well as with national partners.

“Women and youth are a vital part of local development, and Switzerland will continue to support their empowerment at the local level”, said Läubli.

Steffen Hudolin, Head of Operations II, has spoken on behalf of the EU Delegation to Serbia at the opening of the conference, saying that the cohesion policy is a policy that includes structural funds, agriculture, a big part of EU policy and that it makes a difference in ordinary people’s lives. “It deals with the local level, emphasizing the importance of the local level, because it is where life happens, where changes happen”, said Hudolin.

He has stated that it is important to have a flexible approach and address local individual needs.

“What indicates the importance of the local level is the fact that three quarters of the EU acquis are implemented at the local level and are related to the local level. Two thirds of EU funds are intended for the local level, therefore, it is necessary to be well prepared for it. Serbia must be prepared to absorb those funds when it becomes a member and to use them appropriately, at the local level”, said Hudolin.

The Agreement on Membership has been signed at the conference between the European Association of Development Agencies (EURADA) and the Serbian Association of Regional Development Agencies (SARDA). The agreement was signed by EURADA Director Esteban Pelayo and SARDA Director Nenad Popović.

Source: Tanjug