Cooperation Strategy Serbia 2010 - 2013 - Deza - admin.ch

SERBIA 2010-2013
In addition to energy, SECO organized the supply
of trams from the city of Basel to the public
transport system of Belgrade. Accompanied by
workshop modernization and staff training, this
project met with high approval rates from passengers
and continues to give good visibility.
Among the results achieved in this area are the
acquisition of data about all electricity flows in
Serbia and the reconnection of Serbia to the
south-eastern European energy grid. While relevant
and effective, interventions in public infrastructure
have resulted in limited policy dialogue.
In the future, these measures must be more firmly
embedded in a defined energy sector strategy.
2.3 Local Governance (SDC)
SDC has been supporting decentralization and
democratization processes at the local level
since 2000. An initial project involved seven
municipalities in central Serbia, where local
capacities were assessed and improved. Successes
were replicated in eight municipalities in
south-western Serbia, in a co-funding arrangement
with the EU. Effectiveness was satisfactory
and achievements are encouraging. Results
are mainly related to the improved quality of
public services (e.g. opening of 14 one-stop
shops), the introduction of citizen participation
mechanisms (e.g. new municipal statutes
in six municipalities and draft laws on popular
initiatives and referenda), the setting up of
inter-municipal cooperation mechanisms (e.g.
support for the establishment of three Regional
Development Agencies), and the improvement
in strategic planning at local and regional levels.
However, the programme is still infrastructure-driven
(significant infrastructure projects
implemented in 15 municipalities), and works
only partly within the public financial and
administrative systems.
The main lesson for the future is to reinforce
capacity-building in municipal administrations
in order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness
of public spending at the local level.
Specific topics such as the cooperation between
local governments, civil society and the private
sector, and the preparation of project proposals
for external funding (especially EU funds)
will be even more important in the context of
the economic crisis. Also, a strong need has
emerged to strengthen advocacy and lobbying
for the interests of local governments at central
government level and to foster a better integration
of local and central state levels. Finally,
the global crisis has revealed the need to help
municipalities raise their own funds and economize
on resources.
2.4 Private Sector
Development (SECO/SDC)
Economic development, based on the enhancement
of private sector activity, has been one of
the pillars of Switzerland’s cooperation with Serbia
since 2000. Within the framework of a trade
promotion programme, SECO has successfully
supported Serbia in its WTO negotiations, bringing
the country close to accession. In collaboration
with the Swiss Import Promotion Programme
(SIPPO), it has also boosted the export of products
in traditional sectors of the economy. Some
elements of the trade programme, such as trade
efficiency measures, produced mixed results and
were discontinued.
Switzerland’s aid has been expanded, from
access to finance for Small and Medium Enterprises
(SMEs) and financial intermediaries to
broader financial sector support, including the
restructuring and privatization of banks and
insurance companies, the strengthening of system
stability, and the provision of access to insurance.
A critical mass has been reached in terms
of sector portfolio size and contributions were
made to financial sector deepening, but also to
employment creation.
SECO has also been engaged in improving
corporate governance (CG) and the business
enabling environment. It has done so through the
introduction of CG principles, as well as through
legal and regulatory reforms – thereby moving
from the regional and national level to the subnational
level, with an increased focus on policy
implementation rather than policy advice alone.
SDC has concentrated on promoting SME startups.
However, the envisaged shift to a more systemic
and more easily scalable approach did
not materialize. This showed that reorienting
programmes is time consuming. As a result, the
SDC part of the portfolio was never in full swing.
Therefore, innovative ways for reaching more
scalability are being explored.
Overall, the PSD portfolio has been comprehensive
and well-balanced, but there is a need
to reduce the number of individual projects, to
increase scale and to ensure full government
ownership. Specific examples of results are: 43
companies accompanied to trade fairs, over
EUR 3 million in exports contracted, CG manual
published and a post-graduate CG course introduced,
and several hundred SME start-ups initiated
or supported.
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