Municipalities from Serbia at the European Week of Towns and Regions

European Week of Regions and Towns is a four-day event held and organized annually in Brussels by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the European Commission's Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO), during which officials from regional and town administrations, as well as experts and representatives of the academic community, can exchange experiences and knowledge in the field of development of regions and towns. It is also a significant platform for political dialogue on the development of EU cohesion policy, which contributes to raising the awareness of decision makers that regions and towns play an important role in shaping EU policies. European Week of Regions and Towns is the largest public European event of that kind.

Within the Program Support to Local Self-Government in Serbia on the Road to EU - Phase II, SCTM organized a study visit for municipalities that received support in the area of improving local business environment from 07-09 October 2019.

In accordance with this year's theme of the event - DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONS AND TOWNS, the aim of the study visit was networking, exchange of experiences between representatives of regional and town authorities, EU partner institutions, as well as economic entities, financial institutions, local and European associations.

Participants in the study visit were representatives of the Town of Kraljevo - Milun Jovanovic, Member of the Town Council of the Town of Kraljevo and Marko Zivkovic, Advisor to the Project Management and Local Economic Development Service, the Town of Kragujevac - Natasa Pesic Radosavljevic, Head of the Town Administration for Project Management, Sustainable and Equal Development and Zorica Savković, Head of the Department for Local Economic Development, representatives of the Municipality of Bac - Jelena Kovacevic, Head of the Department for Economy, Agriculture and Economic Development and Nikola Banjac, Project Planning Assistant in the LED Office, and representatives of the SCTM - Secretary General Djordje Stanicic, as well as representatives of the SCTM Secretariat - Aleksandra Vukmirovic, Head of the European Integration and International Cooperation Department, Jelena Mihalovic Tanasijevic, Head of the Department for Local Economic Development, Anita Popovic, Expert Associate for Local Economic Development and Milos Mucok, Human Resources Management Advisor in local self-government.

On the first day, the SCTM delegation met with representatives of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) - the oldest and largest Association of Local and Regional Authorities in Europe. In his introductory address, Frederick Walier, CEMR Secretary General, briefed the SCTM delegation on the work of CEMR, the thematic areas it focuses on that affect all aspects of European citizens' lives, as well as the local and regional authorities representing them. Representatives of the CEMR Secretariat (Karol Thomas, Counselor for Governance and Institutional Cooperation, Marin Godron, Associate for Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion and Local Finance, Leonardo Ebner, Assistant for Employment and Public Services, and Olivia Baumar (PLATFORMA Project Manager) made presentations that provided a brief insight into the following areas of work/topics: promotion of LS in Europe, social, economic and territorial cohesion in Europe, digitization at local and regional level and provision of services of public interest in Europe, as well as the PLATFORM of local and regional international issues through decentralized cooperation and good neighborhood policy in Europe.

At the invitation of the Secretary General of the European Center for Employers and Companies providing Public Services and Services of General Interest (CEEP), a meeting was held on the premises of this organization in Brussels with representatives of the SCTM. On behalf of the SCTM, the meeting was attended by Djordje Stanicic, Aleksandra Vukmirovic, and Milos Mucok. The meeting discussed possible cooperation between CEEP and SCTM. At the beginning of the meeting, Ms. Valeria Ronziti, Secretary General, outlined the CEEP activities that this organization performs through its three committees: the Public Services Committee, the Social Policy Committee, and the Sustainable Development Committee. It is a cross-sectoral organization that provides “tailor-made services” for its members.

In particular, the meeting discussed the opportunities that the SCTM would have as a member of this organization, such as partnership in project implementation, use of "tailor made services", etc. The role of CEEP in the European cross-sectoral social dialogue was also discussed, in which it appeared as a representative of employers of public service providers. Representatives of the SCTM pointed to the new function of the SCTM as an employer representative, in this case local self-government units, and opportunities for cooperation in this area.

During their two-day stay in Brussels, the participants had the opportunity to attend various sessions within the European Week of Regions and Towns, and some of the more significant ones were: Launch of the Regional Competitiveness Index 2019, Role of the Regions in Promoting SME Digital Transformation; Regional innovation and the geographical dimension of business, Transitioning the circular economy in the regions and towns of Europe, Urban policies and local economic development strategies in the new financial perspective, How urban policies can attract and increase investment flows, EU Funds, Increasing the attractiveness of rural towns for young people and Territorially governance as an opportunity for the development of the Western Balkans. In addition to the sessions, representatives of towns and municipalities also had the opportunity to share promotional materials from their local self-government, as well as to exchange contacts with participants from other towns and municipalities.