Preparation of the Draft Law on the Cohesion Policy Management System in the Republic of Serbia has started

January 06 2020 | Belgrade

Preparation of the Draft Law on the Cohesion Policy Management System in the Republic of Serbia has started

Pursuant to Article 77 of the Law on Public Administration (“Official Gazette of the RS”, No. 79/05, 101/07, 95/10, 99/14, 47/18 and 30/18 - other law) and Article 3 of the Rulebook on Good Practice Guidelines for Exercising Public Participation in the Drafting of Laws and Other Regulations and Acts ("Official Gazette of the RS", No. 51/19), the Ministry of European Integration hereby informs the public that, on 23 December 2019, the preparation of the Draft Law on the Cohesion Policy Management System in the Republic of Serbia was launched.

The main purpose of the adoption of this law is to provide a basis for establishing the legal, institutional and administrative framework for managing cohesion policy in the Republic of Serbia. Bearing in mind that the Republic of Serbia is not an EU Member State, the relevant EU regulations in the area of cohesion policy are not directly applicable to us.

Considering that there is a need to introduce the rules and procedures specified in these acts into the legal system of the Republic of Serbia and thereby create the basis for building a system for using these funds for the purpose of comprehensive development, the need for the adoption of laws regulating this area has been recognized. In this regard, the Ministry of European Integration, as the body responsible for establishing and developing the systems for managing EU Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund, has established a Working Group tasked with drafting a law that will regulate the system for the use of EU Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund in the Republic of Serbia.

Considering the importance of the cohesion policy for all EU Member States, as well as the fact that the Republic of Serbia could count on significantly higher funds from EU funds compared to the current EUR 1.5 billion at the seven-year level from IPA funds, it is necessary to start with comprehensive preparations for managing funds under this policy as soon as possible. In terms of gross domestic product, Serbia can expect to become the recipient of the cohesion policy funds, which should, at the same time, become the main driver of its development policy.

In view of all the aforementioned, there is an obvious need for the adoption of the Law on the Cohesion Policy Management System in the Republic of Serbia, in order to regulate this matter comprehensively for the first time in Serbia.

Following the preparation of the Draft Law, it is planned to organise a public debate in order to carry out additional consultations with all stakeholders.

Anyone interested can submit their comments and suggestions to: kohezija@mei.gov.rs.