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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia leader in digitalisation in Western Balkans

Belgrade, 17 September 2018

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic met today with European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Mariya Gabriel, who is on a one-day visit to Belgrade.

At the bilateral meeting held in the Serbian government it was pointed out that the European Union is a significant partner of Serbia in the process of digitalisation. Prime Minister Brnabic informed Commissioner Gabriel on the results achieved so far and presented her future plans for the digitalisation of Serbia, primarily of the public administration.

Brnabic once again confirmed that Serbia's strategic goal is the membership in the European Union and pointed out that the Serbian government is taking all necessary steps to fulfil that goal. Commissioner Gabriel pointed out that the European Union is strongly supporting the European perspective of the Western Balkans, which she has announced at the Summit of the Western Balkan countries last May in Sofia. She reiterated that the European Union is committed to a stable and prosperous Serbia.

Commissioner Gabriel stressed that the Sofia summit of last May had reconfirmed the European perspective of all countries of the Western Balkans. Commissioner Gabriel stated:

“Our partners in the Western Balkans have also recommitted to the European perspective as their strategic choice. The EU is interested in having a stable and prosperous Serbia. The Digital agenda for the Western Balkans offers tangible ways to enhance connectivity, improve infrastructure and modernise public administration and e-government. The EU has earmarked €30 million for investments in broadband rollout across the region. We are ready to further cooperate with the government of Serbia on the implementation of the roadmap for lowering roaming tariffs, as part of the Digital Agenda. We have actively engaged in this process at the political level and welcome the involvement and close cooperation among European and national regulators with the firm belief that our concerted action will bring positive deliverables for our citizens and societies. “

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic emphasized the importance that digitalisation and modern technologies have for Serbia.

” Digitalisation is certainly one of the priorities of the government of Serbia. The main goal of the digitalisation of public administration and economy is to enforce the development of our country in general. We are increasing the number of IT companies, strongly supporting entrepreneurship and scientific research.

Digitalisation and the creative industries are the carriers of progress in Serbia, as in the EU. We will continue to be leaders of digitalisation in the Western Balkan and we are very grateful for the support EU is giving us in that field”

Commissioner Gabriel also pointed out the need for Serbia to pass the new law on electronic communications.

Both the Prime Minister and the Commissioner stated that the continuing activity of the EU will ultimately lead to positive changes and a better life for the people in Serbia.

Following the meeting in the government, Commissioner Gabriel visited the state Data Centre in the company of Director of the IT and e-Government Office Mihajlo Jovanovic.

Later, the Prime Minister of Serbia and the European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, together with Minister for European Integration Jadranka Joksimovic, visited the Science and Technological Park in Zvezdara. The building of the park was largely financed through a loan provided from the European Investment Bank.

The successful operations of the Science and Technology Park in Belgrade will soon be expanded, and Serbia is currently building similar parks in Novi Sad and Nis and supports the development of the park in Cacak. With the help of the government of the Republic of Serbia and additional funding from the European Union, new start-up centres are established across the country with the aim of developing technological entrepreneurship. Commissioner Gabriel was informed of Serbia's interest to join European initiatives for the development of blockchain technology and artificial intelligence. The Science and Technology Park can expect a funding from the EU of €1.5 million in 2019. This money will be used to help innovative start-up companies in Serbia to develop and internationalise and market their ideas. Commissioner Gabriel was also briefed about the work of the Innovation fund. The joint fund of the EU and the government of Serbia has helped to create 300 jobs in Serbia. The overall EU’s contribution to research and innovation in Serbia amounts to almost €16 million.

Commissioner Gabriel also received information about the work of BioSense, a Novi Sad based research centre. It has been ranked first in one of the most prestigious calls for proposals of the European Commission– Horizon 2020. The EU-funded programme aims at establishing European Centres of Excellence in research and innovations, which will foster the economic development of the countries and regions and engage them strategically in the path of the innovative growth of Europe.

In a competition of almost 200 projects from all over Europe, through several stages of competition which took places over the last two years, the project ANTARES from the Serbian BioSense Institute ranked first in the overall EU ranking, and is the only project financed from a non-EU country.

With a budget of €28 million, out of which €14 million is the EU grant and €14 million is national co-financing provided by the government of the Republic of Serbia, ANTARES aims to develop BioSense into a European centre of excellence for advanced technology in sustainable agriculture and food security.

Both Prime Minister Brnabic and Commissioner Gabriel expressed their satisfaction at the upcoming Digital Summit in 2019, which will be held in Belgrade in April, which is an exceptional opportunity for Serbia and other partners from the Western Balkans to present to the world all their results in the field of digitalisation and to further improve this sphere.