Speaking at the opening of conference Open Government Partnership in Serbia – Openness builds trust, organised within the framework of the Open Management Week which is being celebrated all over the world from 11 to 17 March, Prime Minister Ana Brnabić underlined that the development of electronic communications and data transparency, as well as transparency and efficiency of public administration, are crucial in order to achieve this.
Prime Minister Ana Brnabić said that the principle of open administration that our country follows entails the obligation to involve citizens in decision-making processes that directly affect the quality of their lives.
She pointed out that the citizens of Serbia and their associations in the past year participated in public consultations and debates directly influencing the drafting of 19 draft laws and 16 other public policy documents.
The opening of the data is important primarily for increasing the transparency of public administration and building confidence with citizens and the economy, Ana Brnabić said.
The Prime Minister noted that within the framework of the Open Government Partnership, our country has committed itself to fulfil 28 goals.
Some of these goals are the launch of the open data portal, the improvement of the law on free access to information of public importance, adoption of the law on e-business, simplification of administrative procedures, and some of these goals have already been achieved.
Open data will increase the transparency of public administration work and building trust between citizens and the economy, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić said at the conference Open Government Partnership in Serbia – Openness builds trust. The opening of data to European countries provided access to the market worth 40 billion euros.
Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government Branko Ružić said that there are 30 institutions on the national portal of open data, of which 12 local self-governments opened their data, which citizens and the economy can find in 500 files.
H.E. Sem Fabrizi, EU Ambassador, said the European Union has invested 80 million euros in strengthening open government. He pointed out that the basic principle of open budgeting is what the state can do for the citizens.
“This is very important because the transparency of public finances allows you to see where the money goes and who is spending it. Another important element is the involvement of citizens,” said Ambassador Sem Fabrizi.
He added that the EU is a partner of the OGP, as it has shared values, 22 out of 28 members are part of the program, as well as most candidate countries and neighbouring countries.
Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia H.E. Andrea Orizio stressed that, in creating a responsible and transparent government that represents an efficient service to citizens, the role of local governments in applying the principles of the Open Society Partnership at the local level is of paramount importance.
UNDP representative in Serbia Steliana Neder assessed that progress in implementing priorities in the process of European integrations too is inseparable because they are part of the same process.