The Contribution of Civil Society to Planning Development Aid for Serbia

The Belgrade Centre for Security Policy is the leading organization for the fields of justice and internal affairs within the Sectorial Civic Society Organizations (SCSO Mechanism) and has since the founding of this platform participated in activities related to the programming, monitoring and evaluation of development assistance from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA and IPA II funds of the European Union) and other bilateral donors.

With the participation of the other 16 organizations within the SCSO mechanism active in the fields of justice and internal affairs, the following activities were carried out during 2018:

The Ministry of European Integration initiated consultations in mid-2018 on the development of the new Multi-Annual Planning Document for the period 2019-2025. This document aims to specify national priorities and development measures in which co-financing from development assistance will have the greatest impact, up until 2025, when a general date is foreseen for Serbia to receive full EU membership in line with the new Strategy for the Western Balkans of the European Union. As part of preparations for the drafting of this document, representatives of the SCSO Consortium for Justice and Internal Affairs attended the introductory meeting on June 11, 2018, when the priorities of the Republic of Serbia and a framework plan for drafting with the participation of representatives of civil society were presented. Representatives of SCSO for Rule of Law and Internal Affairs took part in the meetings of the Sectorial Working Groups (SWG) for these fields, which were held from 18-19. July 2018 at the Metropol Palace Hotel. SWG working meetings aimed to provide a discussion on the proposal for a broader list of specific sectorial objectives and measures based on a comprehensive analysis of the national and sub-national strategic framework, strategic framework of the EU and international development partners, as well as analysis of relevant statistical data and consultations held with partners at the national level. The emphasis of the meeting was to present the results of the analysis, consultations, and the discussion on the identified sectorial goals and measures that should enable the direction of international development funds to co-finance the priority sector reforms. Civil society organizations will submit comments on the working version of the Multi-Annual Planning Document in the course of this process in late July.

In addition, from February to July 2018, BCSP representative participated in the evaluation of the sectorial approach to IPA II, implemented by the European Commission, within which he took part in the evaluators’ field mission in the Republic of Serbia for the sectors of Public Administration / Public Finance and Justice, and submitted comments on the working version of the report. The aim of the field mission is to confirm the contribution of the sectorial approach to IPA II through advanced programming, better ownership, improved achievements in the sector, and improved quality of participation of civil society in this process.

BCSP representative also participated in the evaluation conducted by the European Commission in the framework of its support to the rule of law sector in neighboring countries and candidates and potential candidates (Evaluation of EU support to the Rule of Law in neighboring countries and candidates and potential candidates of enlargement 2010- 2017), within which the evaluators’ field mission was conducted in the Republic of Serbia. The findings and recommendations of this evaluation will be used in the programming and implementation of EU support in the rule of law sector. The field mission visited Serbia July 2-6, during which BCSP representative presented the scope of reforms in the area of justice from the perspective of civil society in the form of an interview with evaluators.

At the beginning of the current year, SCSO for the field of justice received a new member, the Mental Disability Rights Initiative of Serbia (MDRI-S). This organization was founded as a non-profit non-governmental organization with the support of the international organization Disability Rights International (DRI), which recognized the need for a permanent presence and strengthening of the movement for the rights of people with disabilities in Serbia. MDRI is fully committed to the protection and promotion of the human rights of persons with intellectual and mental disabilities and the realization of their full involvement and participation in society. Special attention is paid to children and adults who are at risk or already reside in social care institutions and psychiatric hospitals, as they constitute the most vulnerable and most marginalized group.