Parliamentary Program

Parliament in Transition – Strengthening Accountability in Serbia

Parliament in Transition – Strengthening Accountability in Serbia is designed to strengthen the capacity of the National Assembly of Serbia to oversee government spending and policy implementation and develop related internal policies and procedures for oversight.

The Project focuses on engaging Members of Parliament, parliamentary staff, and civil society organizations (CSOs) on holding public consultations on important government policies and initiatives, particularly as they relate to the state budget and anti-corruption, and seeks to address the role of the National Assembly in Serbia’s National Anti-Corruption Strategy.

Pre-budget consultations will represent an important part of the Project, as well as the institutionalization of policy dialogues and public hearings for monitoring of passed legislation.

The objective/purpose of this Project is threefold:

to strengthen accountability, transparency and participation in the parliamentary governance of Serbia;
to strengthen the representative and oversight roles of elected officials and promote a more active role for the legislature in Serbia's transition; and
to increase citizen participation and strengthen the role and participation of CSOs in decision making and as key partners to development and reform.

The Project seeks to strengthen the NA’s role in overseeing expenditures and related policy implementation by the Executive through raising awareness of the parliament’s oversight role and providing practical hands-on training for MPs and parliamentary staff on budgetary analysis, including gender budgeting. While this part of the Project targets Members and staff of the Finance Committee, it is also opened to other interested Members, as well as other parliamentary staff. The Project supports the development of pre-budget consultations, so that MPs can actively engage civil society, academics, and the general public in its budgetary analysis.

A study visit to a country where budget consultations are well-established, such as Canada or the UK, is envisioned, as well as a visit to Poland, which has one of the the most sophisticated parliamentary knowledge research institutions in the region, particularly in the area of budget analysis. The Project will also seek to involve Members of the NA in larger parliamentary networking opportunities on related themes, such as The Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC).

The Project will also coordinate closely with one or two other key committees in monitoring budget implementation by focusing on key policy areas in Serbia’s development strategy on a pilot basis. While monitoring implementation of legislation can be done in plenary sessions, it is optimal if done at the Committee level, where a more focused debate can occur and partisan politics are more likely to be avoided. Therefore, the Project will support the process of institutionalizing policy dialogues and public hearings or consultations, in order to create a more open forum for representative parliamentary democracy.

In strengthening the oversight role of parliament, the Project will also seek to strengthen the role that civil society and ordinary citizens play in the democratic process. This will have an added benefit of educating the public on the work of the National Assembly and its oversight role, and strengthening the public’s perception of the National Assembly. Presently, CSOs in Serbia are viewed by the Executive as threats or rivals; but, if engaged properly, CSOs could add legitimacy and effectiveness to the democratic process. The Project will engage CSOs beyond their advocacy role and develop guidelines in order to assist CSOs in contributing to policy formulation and monitoring in Serbia, thereby promoting creative partnerships between the two sectors.

This Project is implemented by Parliamentary Center and ProConcept and financed by UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF)