EU Twinning Project "Reinforcement of Consumer Protection in Serbia as a Response to the New Market Challenges" aims to further develop an integrated and coherent consumer protection system through the implementation of legislation in line with the EU acquis, through capacity building and cooperation of all institutions dealing with consumer protection, especially through strengthening partnerships between the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications and non-governmental organisations.
The conference was held with the aim of presenting the results and components that will be an integral part of the project implementation. The conference was attended by: Uroš Kandić, State Secretary, Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications; Ms. Višnja Rakić, Assistant Minister and Beneficiary Country Project Leader, Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications; Mr. Martin Klaucke, Head of Operations, Department II and Ms. Zorica Vasileva from the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia; H.E. Mr. Fedor Rosocha, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic; H.E. Mr. Rafal Pavel Perl, Ambassador of Poland; Ms. Anne-Kristin Piplica, Head of the Economic Department of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany; Mr. Jan Oravec, State Secretary, Project Leader from the Member State and Mr. Tomasz Chrostny, Director (UOKiK).
On that occasion, Mr. Kandić pointed out the expansion of e-commerce and the increase in the number of online stores. He stated that the adoption of the Law on Consumer Protection, along with the Law on Trade and the Law on Electronic Commerce, created a complete legal framework that clearly specifies the obligations of traders, on the one hand, and consumer rights, on the other. He concluded that the two-year implementation of the project is expected to contribute to consumer education and raising the level of awareness of traders in e-commerce, continuing harmonization with EU law, strengthening the capacity of institutions and consumer protection associations.
After the presentation of the State Secretary of , H.E.Mr. Rosocha emphasised the constant support that Slovakia provides to Serbia in the processes of transformation and reform on the road to the European Union. The project should also be seen as a catalyst in launching recent reforms and improvements in the field of consumer protection in the country, while bringing together experts from Member States and beneficiary countries to meet EU requirements for transposition, institutional capacity building and law enforcement. good practices and examples of the EU. He expressed confidence that this twinning project will pave the way for achieving long-lasting and sustainable results.
H.E. Mr. Perl, as a representative of the country known as an unwavering political advocate of Serbia's integration into the EU, stated that after a five-year break, Polish experts will return to Belgrade to offer their colleagues from Serbia knowledge, effort and commitment. He concluded that such a ceremony, which brings together representatives of European institutions, member states and candidate countries, shows support for the EU accession process.
Finally, Ms. Rakić expressed expectations that the results of the project after successful implementation will be visible through a more developed system of consumer protection, which will be recognized only if each of the bearers of consumer protection in the Republic of Serbia gives its maximum on the implementation of all project activities and goals.
The specific expected results of the project are:
- assistance in providing a national legal framework for consumers in line with the EU acquis,
- assistance in ensuring the effective implementation of consumer protection while strengthening institutional arrangements related to cross-border issues,
- improving cooperation between relevant institutions in the field of consumer protection,
- improvement of the sanctioning system within the legal provisions,
- establishment of a functional system of out-of-court settlement of disputes in the field of consumer protection,
- establishing a regionally balanced provision of consumer protection,
- adequate response to new market challenges, such as consumer protection in online transactions,
- strengthening the capacity, resources and competencies of consumers, raising public awareness of consumer rights through direct communication, promotional materials, mobile applications and public events and training of educators and preparation of materials for the curriculum.
The project is implemented by a consortium of Slovakia, Germany and Poland in partnership with the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications of the Republic of Serbia. The partners from the member countries are the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic, the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ) and the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection from Poland (UOKiK). The project implementation period is 24 months (June 2021 - June 2023), and the value of the project is 1.5 million euros.