Digital solutions for a better region
E-permitting, e-Cadaster, electronic system for registering seasonal workers, online fiscalization and business friendly certification of municipalities are only some of the reforms successfully implemented or currently ongoing, stemming from exchange of experiences among the Western Balkans countries.
Mutual replication of best practices is also needed in areas relevant for improving the rank of South East Europe countries in the Doing Business list, eliminating para-fiscal charges, regulating work permits, concessions, public private partnerships and other issues – it was estimated at the panel “Digital solutions for a better region”, organized within the WB6 Digital Summit.
- Western Balkan represents a single market, and for this reason, aligned business conditions stand as a key factor for attracting investments and economic development. Business Friendly Certification in South East Europe – BFC SEE, is the first program that enabled replication of good regulatory solutions and we recognized it as a platform with great potential for regional cooperation. The regional Business Friendly Network implementing the BFC SEE program, involving institutions and organizations from Croatia, BiH, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, needs to be further strengthened and expanded by involving new members – said the Manager of GIZ Open Regional Fund for Modernization of Municipal Services Peter Wolf.
The President of the Regional network and the Director of Association of Local Governments of North Macedonia Dušica Perišić said that the BFC program should also involve countries such as Romania, Hungary and Slovenia, as this would bring in new knowledge for the benefit of the entire region.
The Director of Cooperation Sector of the EU Delegation to Serbia Yngve Engstroem praised the Regional Network’s orientation on the exchange of reforms based on digital solutions, because the information technologies enable faster economic progress through improved skills and knowledge, elimination of trade obstacles and strengthening competition. A representative of European Investment Bank Paul Hickey stressed the need for higher investments in IT infrastructure and the development of e-services with the aim of cutting the red tape that often stands in the way of smooth work of small and medium enterprises.
The panelists concluded that each of the countries in the region can offer an efficient electronic procedure that could be replicated in other countries, with the aim of regulatory standardization, and stressed the importance of establishing “knowledge centers” in each country. Institutional and systemic support of the governments of Western Balkans countries would provide an additional impulse for networking and dialogue and help in developing the BFC program into a Business Friendly Environment platform for more efficient reforms.
The last day of WB6 Digital Summit, NALED Executive Director Violeta Jovanović presented the results of cooperation among countries in the region on developing and establishing electronic public services. On this occasion, she spoke about the achievements of Regional Business Friendly Network (BFC SEE) in exchanging successful reform solutions such as thee-permitting, e-cadaster, e-seasonal work, business friendly certification.
- U regionu postoje gotova digitalna reformska rešenja koja mogu da se prilagode i primene u svakoj od ekonomija zapadnog Balkana koja želi da prati standarde EU i sprovede konkretne reforme sledeći iskustvo i primer susednih zemalja. Pozivamo ekonomije u regionu i međunarodnu zajednicu na podršku BFC SEE mreži koja je spremna da se institucionalizuje i postane efikasna podrška liderima u u sprovođenju reformi zasnovanih na savremenim digitalnim rešenjima. Naša vizija je konkurentan region zapadnog Balkana koji se razvija kroz reforme bazirane na digitalnim rešenjima jer IT omogućava brži ekonomski napredak - istakla je Violeta Jovanović i dodala da umrežen region ispunjava zahteve Berlinskog procesa i dovodi Srbiju na vrata EU do 2025. godine.
