Completed selection of LSGs upon Competitions for the award of expert support on Financial Management and Control (FMC) and on Internal Audit (IA) in the scope of EU Exchange 6 Programme

Within the EU Exchange 6 Programme - "Enhancing credibility of planning, programme-based budgeting and control in execution of public expenditures at local level in Serbia", upon the Public Call for selection of beneficiary LSGs for the award of expert support in two areas. i.e., upon two Competitions - for introducing/improving the FMC system and/or the IA function - a total of 21 applications from LSGs were received, and subsequently evaluated in accordance with competitions’ Guidelines. Public Call was announced in the period from February 8^th until March 10^th, 2023.

Based on the proposal of the Committees for evaluation and selection, and subsequently on the consent by the Programme Steering Committee, following LSGs are selected per respective competitions:

Within the Competition for the award of expert assistance for introducing/improving the IA Function, a total of six (6) LSGs are selected, as follows: Trstenik, Odzaci, Kanjiza, Tutin, Golubac and Sombor.

Within the Competition for the award of expert assistance for introducing/improving the FMC System, a total of five (5) LSGs are selected, as follows: Boljevac, Srbobran, Lajkovac, Vrbas and Tutin.

Thus, the total of 11 expert assistance sets are awarded for the two areas in question, supporting 10 LSGs (i.e., one LSG is awarded the support upon both competitions.

Support will be implemented on the basis of Cooperation Agreements to be concluded with each selected LSG, within a tentative timeline of 12 months duration. Support includes providing guidance to beneficiary LSGs through respective processes (IA and FMC) and related capacity building, as well as the expertise for organisational consolidation and establishing/improving the regulatory/documentary basis for IA and/or FMC.

We are pleased to congratulate to the selected LSGs, and to express our gratitude to all LSGs that participated in the competitions, and thus have acknowledged the importance and quality of support that the SCTM provides to towns and municipalities by means of EU funds in the scope of the Programme, in increasing the credibility of planning, programme budgeting and control of public expenditures at the local level in Serbia.

Advisory support concerning public financial management, including the internal financial control, is available to all LSGs in Serbia via SCTM within the EU Exchange 6 Programme. In the further course of Programme implementation, there are coordination activities to follow which will be available to all LSGs, as well as peer-to-peer events among LSGs and for exchanging lessons learnt with competent national institutions, on FMC and IA topics.

The EU Exchange 6 Programme is financed by the European Union in the scope of IPA 2019 national allocation, and is being implemented in the direct management regime, implying that the EU Delegation in Serbia entails principal management powers. The key competent line institutions at the national level are the Ministry of Finance and the Public Policy Secretariat, along with the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government and Ministry of European Integration. As in previous phases of the Exchange Programme, the SCTM has the role of implementing partner and direct responsibility for the implementation of planned Programme activities.

More information on the EU Exchange 6 Programme available at: http://www.skgo.org/projekti/detaljno/63/eu-exchange-6