The EFB-Funded Project "Competition Policy in Serbia – What is the problem?" discussed in the National Assembly of Serbia

The draft study "Competition Policy in Serbia – What is the problem?" conducted by the Centre for European Policy (CEP) and funded by the European Fund for the Balkans was presented in the National Assembly of Serbia, in order to include the conclusions and recommendations of the experts and the professional community in the final version of the study. In his opening speech, Nebojsa Lazarevic, Director of CEP, pointed out that Serbia cannot have a productive discussion about competition policy, if it is not seen in the context of European integration: "If our goal is not mere membership, but to become a successful and credible member that provides full contribution to the European arena and achieves full benefits of membership, then it is important to have a market economy that is capable of withstanding the pressure on the EU market." This research project, within the Think and Link Regional Policy Programme of the European Fund for the Balkans, was aimed at analysing issues regarding the implementation of the competition policy in Serbia. Therefore, CEP performed a comprehensive, methodologically thorough analysis of the obstacles preventing effective implementation of a competition policy, and also informed and raised the awareness of the main stakeholders about the potential mechanisms for advancement of this policy in line with Serbia’s EU integration process and the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. Aleksandra Tomic, President of the Committee on the Economy, Regional Development, Trade, Tourism and Energy, has indicated that it is important that such meetings in the future become a regular practice in the work of Parliament and the Committee. "Certainly there are problems, and certainly we are facing much harmonisation in this area on the path of EU integration, but without civil society we wouldn’t have strength to carry out and achieve this kind of system of information and notifications that we have in the form of these reports and studies." This research project was funded by the European Fund for the Balkans, as part of the Think and Link Regional Policy Programme, which seeks to foster inclusive and evidence-based policy making in the Western Balkans.