The replication of the RCC’s Roma Integration 2020 regional workshop on budgeting public funds for the integration of Roma in the Republic of Serbia started today in Arangelovac. Public servants from relevant ministries implementing the Roma integration Strategy of Serbia will participate in the two day workshop with an aim to increase their capacities to properly coordinate and budget their activities that serve the implementation of the Roma integration strategy. 

Aleksandra Bojadjieva, policy expert at the RCC’s Roma Integration 2020 action team welcomed the participants in the name of the Regional Cooperation Council, and provided information on the project and the current workshop. She highlighted that the workshop serves the efforts of Serbia for its integration into the European Union, as the issue of Roma is recognized as important priority and one of the elements of the enlargement criteria. At the same time, achieving the expected results on the path to the European Union inevitably requires investing adequate resources, including allocating public budget and using the funds of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance.

During these two days, the public servants implementing the Strategy for integration of Roma in Serbia present at the workshop will receive information on the legal framework for budgeting, including budgeting of strategic priorities within the negotiating chapters, international regulatory framework for financing state functions, and specifics of the Roma integration action plans. It is expected that the participants shall discuss the key reasons for prioritizing and budgeting integration of Roma, particularly discussing two-way multiplication of beneficial effects of such investment, opportunity for external funding, EU integration process and other international commitments. From the international level, the workshop shall operationalize previously covered topics at national level, looking at the implementation of the legal framework for public budget system, current state of affairs and possibilities for adjustments, and regional perspectives for setting standards for Roma sensitive budgeting.

During the second day of the workshop the participants shall work on more practical aspects of the budgeting for Roma integration. The first topic focuses on the universal methodology for budgeting, including expressing qualitative elements of the strategies in the budget and assessment and expressing financial implication of strategic aims. The full cycle of the workshop shall be completed with the actual process of budgeting, its implementation and monitoring, including planning based on the standard multi-year programmatic template for budgeting of the Ministry of Finance.

Materials related the workshop in Serbian language can be downloaded below.

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Agenda

Agenda

Legal Aspects of Budgeting

Key Reasons for Prioritizing Roma Integration in Budgeting

National Regulation for Budgeting

Unique Methodology for Budgeting

Budgeting Process: Planning, Implementing, Monitoring

COFOG classification system (UN)

Public Budgeting for Roma Integration MANUAL