In the organisation of the project Support to Commission for State Aid Control, basic training sessions on state aid rules were held for employees in public administrations of the municipalities of Aranđelovac and Knić, as part of project activity that envisages introducing employees in all local self-government units in Serbia to these rules.
The project leader Radmila Mihić presented to the participants the project goals, as well as the state aid rules that are in force in the European Union. As such, these rules represent the legal framework for the harmonisation of relevant Serbia's legislation in the area. Legal expert Svetlana Šćepanović Markočević introduced the participants to the state aid rules that are most often used in practice - in the field of regional development, for small and medium enterprises and environmental protection.
On-the-job training sessions were conducted in full respect of preventive measures related to Covid-19 pandemic.
Aranđelovac and Knić were the last two local self-government units in which project experts have held basic training sessions on state aid in the past year and a half. Organisation of training sessions in all cities and municipalities is one of the main project activities; it will be followed by the distribution to all LSG units of a Guide to the Basics of State Aid, a manual created within the project, which is expected by the end of the year.
The project Support to the Commission for State Aid Control is funded by the European Union from Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA 2014) funds, with a budget of EUR 999,000. The project started in February 2019 and will last until February 2021.
„Think State Aid First“ is one of the key project's messages, intended to point out that state aid control rules should be part of the earliest planning phase within institutions. The important segment of the project is raising the awareness of all stakeholders in the public sector, as well as of citizens, that the integration of state aid control rules is a tool of strengthening of public finances in the long run and that state aid provided in accordance with the rules can be one of the instruments of economic and social growth.
