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The aim of this Study is to provide the most appropriate solutions to the State Audit Institution of Serbia for the inclusion of citizens in the external audit process as well as to provide sustainable and more institutionalized forms of cooperation with civil society organizations. The Study adopts a comparative approach in its thorough analysis of European and non-European experiences and existing domestic institutional practices. A qualitative methodology was adopted in the form of a combination of primary and secondary sources, i.e. data collection was conducted through in-depth semi-structured interviews, electronic questionnaires, and the analysis of legislative and institutional frameworks and practices in regards to citizens’ cooperation in external audit process and cooperation of supreme audit institutions with the civil society. The methods applied proved as adequate in terms of analyzing comparative practices in the chosen systems and for getting a broader insight of the examples in the areas of transparency and government accountability, and more specifically in external audit, across a variety of states.
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Up to this point, the issue of a systemic approach to civil society participation in the process of policy making in Serbia has not been resolved. In its last Progress Report, the European Commission notes that "civil society is a crucial component of any democratic system and should be recognized and treated as such by the state institutions". Notably, the EU has leverage to emphasize civil society participation mainly in relation to the accession process. Beyond this sphere, the resources and expertise of the civil society should be recognized and taken advantage of by the government and other public institutions. This is supported by the increasing complexity of the course of reforms, the challenge of legislative harmonization, and the lack of human capacity in the public administration as part of the EU integration process. In this regard, substantial effort needs to be invested to assure an evidence basis from the beginning of the planning of a policy, which is the basis of a sound and comprehensive reform. // This policy paper first elaborates on the policy making landscape in terms of its lack of transparency, which is deemed to be the precondition of a planned, and predictable participation of civil society organizations (CSOs) in policy making. Secondly, despite the lack of policy formulation as a discrete stage of policy making in the Serbian system, its elements are analyzed across other formally prescribed documents in order to pinpoint venues that offer possibilities for CSO participation. Next, the current informal and formal mechanisms of CSO participation are assessed. Finally, a brief reflection on the activities of the CS Office is given as it is the main impetus of change in this regard. Whereas the text focuses on the Serbian case, the recommendations are inspired by comparative experiences of Croatia and Montenegro.
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The aim of this study is to promote a discussion on possible models of institutionalising policy monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in Serbia, as well as on the means available to include civil society organizations (CSOs). In the context of democratic consolidation and economic transition in Serbia, mechanisms and practices of holding policy makers accountable are gradually being established. Moreover, monitoring the implementation of reforms and evaluating their effects are particularly important in the accession negotiations with the European Union (EU), since the effective and sustainable implementation of the acquis will essentially determine the very dynamics of the negotiations, and eventually Serbia’s membership in the EU. However, in Serbia there are no sufficiently developed structures and procedures that would allow a permanent monitoring of results. Additionally, there are no well-established modes of cooperation between the governmental and non-government sector in that regard, while examples of good practices remain rudimentary.
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The six countries of the Western Balkans, all EU-membership aspirants, find themselves in different stages of the EU integration process. The characteristics of the EU’s enlargement approach towards the Western Balkans requires these countries to deliver concrete, tangible, and sustainable results before becoming members. In the previous enlargement rounds, the EU has never deployed such complex mechanisms to assess and monitor the quality of implemented reforms. This situation is new both for the EU Commission and the candidate countries,1 implying that the EU is also learning from its experiences and mistakes and innovating its methodology for assessing the results made by the candidate countries. The Western Balkan countries themselves are investing in developing new tools and mechanisms to report and monitor the achieved results. More precisely, improvements are made with regards to data collection and analysis methods, the quality and reliability of data, and more constructive engagement with civil society stakeholders.
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This analysis was produced in the framework of the project “Determining conditions for the improvement of work of the State Audit Institution in Serbia,“ jointly implemented by the European Project Center and European Policy Centre, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the Judicial Reform and Government Accountability project (JRGA). This analysis, and the research conducted for its purposes, has the goal to determine how auditees act upon SAI's recommendations, how they perceive external audit system in Serbia and how important it is to insist on the external follow-up on implementation of SAI's recommendations and measures in the future. Engagement of civil society organisations so far in the follow-up work on implementation of SAI's measures is also discussed.In correspondence with existing comparative experience (best practices) and certain international guidelines, it strives to provide recommendations for future role these organisations can have in the establishment of financially accountable government in Serbia. This analysis also places the external audit system into a broader context of reform and integration processes in Serbia, in order to highlight the importance of this area and its correlation with other reform areas.
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