The professionalization of the public procurement sector

The first group consisting of 113 public procurement officers who have successfully passed the final exam were awarded certificates at the end of this part of the process supported by the European Union, OSCE and UNDP, which represents the first step towards professionalizing this area.

Having awarded the certificate to the most successful candidate, Aleksandra Milanović from the Public Utility Company "Duboko" from Užice, Degert said that the implementation of public procurement was a difficult task, and added that proper implementation was an important proof that the system is working in practice.

"This is an important step in a very important year for Serbia, bearing in mind that public procurement is a significant part of Serbia’s accession process to the EU. The role of public procurement is the cornerstone of the integrity and responsibility of the system, which should consolidate the rule of law. We will continue to follow the development of situation in this area," Degert said.

The certificate award ceremony in Belgrade City Hall was attended by Milica Delević, the Director of Serbian European Integration Office, William Infante, UNDP Resident Representative in Serbia, Thomas Moore, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, and Predrag Jovanović, the Director of the Public Procurement Office.

"113 out of 208 candidates who took the test by the end of January have successfully passed it, resulting in the 54 percent success rate. So far the process has been implemented in accordance with the recommendations of EU institutions involved, and there is a growing number of applicants for certification," Jovanović said.

Delević said that the certification was an example of the implementation of important EU recommendations in Serbia’s European integration process.

"Serbia spends some EUR 4bn a year on public procurement and our citizens will benefit from the savings due to the transparency of the process. We have made progress in this area, but there are still many more tasks ahead. It is important to have trained people who will help the implementation of the legislation," Delević said.