• 2014-12-24
• |  Belgrade

Important Role of Local Governments in Negotiation Process With EU

Center for Democracy presented results of the project “Role of Local Governments in the Process of Pre-Accession Talks Between Serbia and EU”.

The role of local governments in the process of pre-accession talks between Serbia and EU is of vital importance, since they have to influence the negotiation position in the right manner, as stated by representative of Center for Democracy Foundation Miloš Savić at the presentation of results of the project and research on the role of local government in negotiations on EU membership.
 
Local governments should actively participate in negotiations on EU membership, considering that they will have important role in implementation of the agreed obligations. On the other side, negotiations will bring local governments new duties and responsibilities, with which they will have to learn to function in a completely new environment. 

As mentioned at the event, Center for Democracy has within 2014, realized the project “Role of Local Governments in the Process of Pre-Accession Talks Between Serbia and EU” aimed at raising capacities of local governments for monitoring of pre-accession negotiations, as well as their active participation in this process. 

“The results of research showed that local governments do not recognize their own position in the process of pre-accession negotiations of Serbia’s membership in EU, and their role should be crucial because they should provide realistic information from the field, what is the status in the communities and what is possible to achieve and to which extent”, said Savić at the presentation in Media Center in Belgrade. 

There is a noticeable lack of knowledge and understanding the process among representatives of local governments, as well as animosity, because they consider they cannot significantly influence the negotiation process. 

“Introduction of European officer in all local governments is announced because of the difficulties in communication, and who should act as direct channel of communication between negotiation team and the communities”, as emphasized by Savić; who also added that issues of capacities for organizing the European officer still stays open. 

Research was conducted on the territory of Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, eastern and central Serbia, by organizing trainings for members of local assemblies, committees and employed in municipal administration.
 
"Working with them, we developed reviews of the problems among 10 municipalities we cooperated with, and defined priority problems, ways for solving them through project cycles, as well as necessary partnerships, target groups, activities and sources of financing”, as said at the presentation. 

Vladimir Pavlović from Belgrade Open School pointed out that “local governments may not be passive bystander, but rather an active actor in the process of negotiation”. 

He emphasized that reforms, as substantial part of negotiations, cannot be successful without participation of local governments. “We have legally committed to reform our society following the standards and goals of EU public policies”, said Pavlović. 

According to the estimations of the Permanent Conference of Towns and Municipalities, out of 35 chapters in membership negotiation process, 21 chapters, as well as two thirds of the regulations will be included in jurisdiction of the local governments. 

"Local governments therefore have to be familiar with subjects of negotiations, as well as to provide key information, such as needs, capacities and resources that will be important for implementation of what is agreed within negotiations”, he added. 

According to his words, negotiations with EU will bring local governments a completely new spectrum of jurisdictions and a new institutional frame, and they will have to learn to function in a completely different setting. Beside provision of services to citizens, negotiations will bring forth the role of local governments as “buyer, employer and investor”.

However, Serbia still does not have an integrated registry of local governments’ jurisdictions, he stated and added that the capacities of local governments in Serbia are different and that uniformed model cannot fit all, thus the main problem present insufficient human and financial capacities.

Maybe insufficient capacities are not that much of the problem for big municipalities, he said, but around three quarters of municipalities are not developed. 

Pavlović also drew attention to the fact that the largest portion of budgetary resources belonging to municipalities according to the transferred power are spent on duties, and there are approximately 20% left for “being creative”. 

It is stated at the event that as of 2015, municipalities will be obliged to implement budgetary programming that should enable better connecting of strategic goals and financing. 

Representative of the Government’s Office for European Integration Darko Čukuranović said that it will be a great test for Serbia to “plan further into the future”. 

He added that in future, emphasis will be put on smaller municipalities to utilize more EU pre-accession funds for achieving the obligations deriving from negotiations. 

Čukuranović greeted the initiative of Permanent Conference of Towns and Municipalities for introduction of European officers into local governments who will improve their following and participation in the negotiation.

Project “Role of Local Governments in the Process of Pre-Accession Talks Between Serbia and EU” has been implemented during 2014, by Center for Democracy Foundation with the support of Olof Palme International Center. 

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Source: Tanjug, www.euractiv.rs, www.mc.rs