Belgrade, January 24, 2025.
The Minister for European Integration in the Government of the Republic of Serbia Tanja Miščević and the Director of the UNOPS Serbia Multi-Country Office Michela Telatin signed an agreement that will enable the provision of technical support in the establishment of a Center of Excellence.
The agreement will contribute to improving the technical and analytical capacities of the line Ministry and other key institutions in the EU accession negotiations. It will also enable the Ministry of European Integration to provide the necessary technical support in establishing the Center through the implementation of the existing regional project of the Kingdom of Norway and UNOPS, Knowledge for Reform Action in the Western Balkans.
After signing the agreement, Miščević emphasized that the establishment of the Center of Excellence will play an important role in realizing Serbia's plan to be fully prepared to adopt and comply with EU law by the end of 2026. The Minister emphasized that this is a huge task that awaits Serbia and that requires assistance and knowledge transfer from other Member States and experts. The Minister mentioned that in some areas, such as environmental protection, climate change, energy or food safety, knowledge and assistance are particularly needed.
“The area for which we are most directly responsible as a Ministry is cohesion policy and preparation for structures. We must first see where cohesion policy is heading and we must have the knowledge to be able to create structures that will be suitable for the use of funds in that sense. The Center will serve all of this very well”, the Minister explained. She added that the role of the Center will also be to transfer the knowledge and experiences that Serbia has in the European integration process to other candidates for EU membership. An important task is to gather the expertise of all individuals, Ministries and other Institutions that have been involved in the European integration process for many years.
Miščević expressed gratitude to the Government of the Kingdom of Norway for its support, stating that 200,000 USD have been allocated for 2025, which will be managed by UNOPS, and will be made available to the Ministry of European Integration to technically implement the process of establishing the Center. Miščević highlighted that the Centre will not only include people from the Ministry but also those who have been involved in the integration process for decades. “Our plan is to be ready by the end of 2026 to adopt the EU acquis, and we will need the help of those who have already gone through this alignment process, as well as to exchange knowledge,” Miščević added. Miščević emphasised that Norway, although not an EU member state, strongly supports Serbia’s European aspirations.
The signing of the agreement was also attended by the Norwegian Ambassador to Serbia, Kristin Melsom, who emphasized that the launch of the Center of Excellence is a key event on Serbia's path towards the EU. She assessed that the Center was more than an initiative and that it will foster innovation and partnership and assist Serbia in achieving its EU agenda.“This is an opportunity for knowledge exchange, partnerships, and support in implementing reforms necessary for Serbia’s prosperous future as an EU member state,” Melsom stated, adding that key areas of cooperation included energy, the green agenda, and agriculture.