XII Annual NALED Assembly and Business Friendly Certificate award ceremony

On Tuesday, 24 April 2018 at Hyatt Regency hotel in Belgrade, within the XII Annual Assembly session, NALED members reviewed the achieved results and the strategic course and goals for the period 2018-2021. In the presence of renowned businesses, mayors and leaders of state and international institutions from the country and abroad, on this occasion NALED presented the initiative for institutionalizing cooperation among South East Europe countries in harmonizing and improving the business environment, and presented the certificates to cities and municipalities offering the best investment conditions.

The Assembly concluded that NALED had a very successful year, reaching 300 members from businesses, local governments and civil society organizations.

- We contributed towards Serbia making new progress and the best position in the Doing Business list, reaching Top 10 countries by the ease of construction permitting process. By coordinating the implementation of the National program we assisted in reducing the scope of shadow zone by 21,1% to 15,4% GDP among registered businesses. We managed to enable the introduction of a major incentive to entrepreneurship in the form of tax exemption for new businesses. We participated in setting a foundation for e-government development through establishment of Office for IT and E-Government and the adoption of laws on e-commerce and e-government –said the President of NALED MB Aleksandar Ružević.

NALED participated in the process of drafting more than 20 laws relevant for businesses, being a member of 15 working and expert groups for improving Serbia’s position in international competitiveness lists, countering shadow economy, developing e-government, entrepreneurship, construction sector and other areas.

The session also presented NALED’s Strategic plan for the period 2018-2021, developed with the support of Open Society Foundation. NALED members voted and confirmed that the organization’s two main program goals for the mid-term period will be the improvement of regulatory framework for doing business and the strengthening of public administration capacities and responsibility.

Within the first goal, the key activities will include the work on further reducing shadow economy, developing e-government and e-commerce, improving the work of Cadaster, developing agriculture and healthcare sectors, and advancing international competitiveness and regional cooperation. The second goal focuses on improving the public administration and local government capacities for supporting businesses, improving the process of law adoption and their quality, and engagement in the EU accession process with the aim of strengthening competitiveness of businesses in Serbia.

Within the ceremonial Assembly session, held under the title „Partnership for a competitive region“, in the presence of renowned partners from the country and the region, and with the support of German Development Cooperation and European Investment Bank, ministers from South East Europe countries presented 17 certificates to local governments which successfully completed the certification process, adopting the reform plan and program guidelines for developing a business friendly environment– 11 from BiH, four from Serbia (Novi Sad, Leskovac, Sombor and Ruma), one from Macedonia and one from Croatia.

On this occasion, NALED presented the initiative for establishing the regional Platform for Business Friendly Environment – BFE SEE, which builds upon the previous cooperation of partner institutions from the region, implementing the Business Friendly Certification in South East Europe (BFC SEE) in five countries – Croatia, BiH, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, which had been launched by NALED based on positive experiences from Serbia.

The event presented a conclusion that South East Europe countries can offer good systemic solutions from improving the business conditions, but they need a joint platform to manage the process of replicating successful economic reforms among the members. The e-permitting process transferred from Macedonia to Serbia and Albania are a good example of successful “export” of best practices, and the same potential is seen in the solutions for regulating the status of seasonal workers.

- We propose the institutionalization of cooperation in harmonizing and improving the business environment, with the support of prime ministers and governments of the countries in the region. Following the success of electronic permits, we could also replicate best solutions for reforming the Cadaster and public procurement system, countering shadow economy and encouraging entrepreneurship – said the President of NALED MB Aleksandar Ružević.

The Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabić stressed her support to the initiative for establishing the Regional Platform for Business Friendly Environment - BFE SEE, inviting her colleagues from the region and international donor organizations to help in the realization.

- We should be exporting knowledge as all of us some quality solutions to offer –electronic construction permits and e-Cadaster in Macedonia, fiscalization system in Croatia, while Serbia offers business friendly certification and the programs for countering shadow economy and improving international competitiveness and the position in global reports - said Brnabić.

The Ambassador of Germany to Serbia Axel Dittmann said that German Development Cooperation has supported the development of BFC SEE program, which achieved major success and helped nearly 100 local government from five countries in improving their business environment, contributed in strengthening regional cooperation and harmonization of business conditions. This was also reflected in continuous progress of these countries in the Doing Business list, and German supports the program’s further advancement and the proposal for institutionalization.

BFC SEE program has been implemented since 2012 and so far, nearly 100 cities and municipalities from five countries joined the certification process, of which 44 have fulfilled the conditions to obtain the certificate. The certificate acts as a seal of quality and proof for investors that these environments will offer predictable business environment in line with the highest international standards, efficient procedures, quality databases and reliable services.

More than 3 million citizens and 150,000 businesses in certified cities and municipalities nowadays use efficient local administration services, with their business conditions quality being by 76% better than other local governments on average. Additionally, 40% of certified cities and municipalities have been included in Financial Times’ list of best investment destinations in Europe.