Closing Conference of EU Twinning project

Within the twinning project funded by the European Union from pre-accession funds in the amount of EUR 1,500,000.00 with the Ministry of Finance - Sector for contracting and financing of programs from EU funds as the Contracting Body, the Ministry of Internal and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Serbia is in partnership with the Ministry economy of the Slovak Republic, the Polish Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKIK), the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ) and the Regional Development Agency Senec-Pezinok from the Slovak Republic conducted a series of significant activities related to the preparation and harmonization of relevant legislation, improvement of the system for extrajudicial solving consumer disputes, preparing a framework for cross-border cooperation, raising the level of knowledge in the field of e-commerce and introducing consumer protection into the curriculum and strengthening the capacities of all relevant institutions.

Intensive work on the activities of the twinning project "Reinforcement of Consumer Protection in Serbia as a Response to the New Market Challenges" within the framework of the IPA 2018 instrument, which began to be implemented in June 2021, is slowly coming to an end. The goal of this project was to provide support to the Republic of Serbia in terms of more effective and productive conduct of pre-accession negotiations and fulfillment of requirements for the Republic of Serbia's membership in the EU, all in order to ensure the full implementation of harmonized legislation in the field of consumer protection.

At the conference organized on the occasion of the completion of the project, the project partners addressed the audience providing a detailed insight into the activities carried out during the previous two years, stating that the project successfully achieved the expected results. As part of the negotiation chapter 28 - consumer protection and health protection, the Republic of Serbia invests great efforts in terms of the development of the national consumer protection framework with the aim of full compliance with EU regulations, as well as in the establishment of a functional and sustainable institutional system based on the cooperation of all actors, clear and consistent legal regulations and effective implementation.

Tools such as the twinning instrument offer countries in the pre-accession process an opportunity for further development through cooperation with member states and access to good practices across the EU. As part of this project, the Ministry of Internal and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Serbia is in partnership with the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic, the Polish Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKIK), the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ) and the Regional Development Agency Senec-Pezinok from Slovakia. of the Republic carried out a number of significant activities, among which were the drafting of proposals for amendments to the Law on Consumer Protection and additional by-laws. By holding more than 20 trainings for relevant actors in the field of consumer protection, the strengthening of professional competencies was ensured for more than 300 participants, including representatives of traders, consumer protection associations and bodies for out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes. Numerous events were organized with the aim of raising public awareness, including a media campaign on the occasion of the World Consumer Day in 2022 and 2023, which were accompanied by multimedia content TV and radio spots), in order to strengthen the capacities of state officials , and participated in expert meetings on international level (study visits)in the field of consumer protection , competitions for primary and secondary school students in knowledge of consumer rights, a set of educational materials for students was prepared, info days were organized throughout Serbia.

As the end result of the project, consumer protection in the Republic of Serbia was further improved through harmonization with EU legislation and raising the awareness of consumers, traders and the professional public about consumer rights.