Serbian legislature to harmonize with EU acquis by the end of 2021

At the proposition of the Ministry of European Integration and Minister Jadranka Joksimovic, the Government of the Republic of Serbia adopted the third revised version of the National Program for the Adoption of the EU Legal Framework (NPAA) at a session held on Thursday, March 1, 2018, as announced on the website of the Government of Serbia.

NPAA is the most important and all-encompassing document in the process of Serbia's European integration, considering that, in addition to the harmonization of the domestic legislature with the EU acquis, it also envisages the obligation of boosting administrative capacities during the accession negotiations with the EU, as well as long-term financial planning and responsible planning of the budget.

According to NPAA, the plan is to fully harmonize the legislature with the EU acquis by the end of 2021, which is to be followed by a period of monitoring the implementation of the regulations until the accession.

The aim of the Government is for Serbia to be fully prepared in the technical sense for EU membership by the end of 2021, regardless of the date of the formal closing of the accession negotiations and the acquisition of the full member status.

For the first time, NPAA envisages the obligation of local institutions to strengthen administrative capacities in the field of European integration. Keeping in mind the dynamics of the accession negotiations and the growing number of chapters opened, it is necessary to secure the capacities for the preparation of new regulations and their efficient implementation, it is said.

Special attention will be paid to the strengthening of the capacities in the field of planning proposals of projects for financing from the EU instruments of pre-accession assistance and bilateral development help.

Financial guidelines for monitoring the financial effects of NPAA were prepared in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance.

Public administration institutions are now obligated to plan the budget for carrying out the obligations in the process of European integration as a strategic priority of the Government of Serbia in a responsible and sustainable fashion.

The planning also entails the obligation of determining the priority projects for financing from the international aid funds.

The Ministry of European Integration is in charge of monitoring and reporting on the carrying out of NPAA and is to file reports to the Government every three months.

Let us remind that, according to the second revision of NPAA, adopted in November 2016, the deadline for the adoption of the EU acquis was December 31, 2018, and the date was also set as the validity deadline for the document.

Ministarstvo za evropske integracije Republike Srbije

Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije

Vlada Republike Srbije

National Program for the Adoption of the EU Legal Framework

NPAA

Jadranka Joksimovic

EU acquis

EU legal framework

European integration

Eurointegration

EU membership

EU accession

negotiations with the EU