NALED results - Annual report 2012

s y n e r g y 2 0 1 2
Annual report

2006 2007 2008 2009
July
NALED Managing
Board held its first
constitutional meeting.
The project portfolio
was defined. The
Business-Friendly
Certification program
for municipalities was
launched.
January
NALED reaches full
self-sustainability and
independence due to
the acquired projects
and new members.
It moved to its own
premises in Belgrade
city center.
December
The „Top Reformer“
award was established
to recognize the most
active ministers,
mayors and other
institutional leaders.
March
After a series of
successful conferences
and round tables,
NALED positioned
itself as the leader in
promoting dialogue
and cooperation
between the private,
public and civil sector.
March
The National Alliance
for Local Economic
Development was
created within USAID's
municipal support
program. Its first steps
were supported by the
President of Serbia and
the U.S. Ambassador.
June
Eight months before
the Comprehensive
Regulatory Reform,
NALED initiated its
„Out of the Maze“
campaign for cutting
the red tape, and
started preparing
the first Grey Book
of regulations.
naled time machine

2010 2011 2012 2013
September
32 cities and
municipalities in
Serbia improved their
business environment
through NALED
certification program.
Billboards promoting
investments into
Serbia were installed
on Belgrade Airport.
November
Businesses got the
opportunity to
calculate and
compare local costs
of doing businesses
via online Calculator
of municipal fees
and charges.
July
The Ambassadorial
Initiative was
launched – successful
businesses and the
ambassadors of EU
countries and Israel
were united for the
first time in order to
promote investments
into best Serbian
municipalities.
December
Business-Friendly
Certification developed
into the first regional
project in South East
Europe. NALED has
been working with
political parties on
preparing the new
economic agenda for
the future government.
February
Financial Times ranked
5 certified municipalities
from Serbia among top
investment destinations
in South East Europe.
NALED started
preparing the new
campaign for
improving the
„Ask WHEN“.
October
The Government
eliminated 138
para-fiscal charges
at the initiative of
NALED and USAID. The
first national corporate
responsibility standard
was established within
the CSR Certification.
Today
NALED is the
largest and the
most influential
private-public
association in the
country, promoting
reforms and economic
development of
Serbia on its path
towards EU.

7 word from the president
8 2012 in numbers
9 executive office report
11 activities
12 Improving the regulatory framework for doing business
26 Municipal capacity building for economic development
38 Promoting dialogue between private and public sector
75 ORGANIZAtion
76 Capacities of the Alliance
86 Financial results
91 communications
92 Media and the Internet
contents

O
ne of the hardest years is behind us. Since the
year 2000, this is the second time our economy
has recorded a negative growth rate, a fall in
the number of jobs and a double digit unemployment,
which puts us high in the top of the European list. The
performance in attracting new investments was not
impressive either.
All of these gave more than enough reasons to NALED,
as the largest association of all three sectors of the so-
ciety, to once again urge the authorities to accelerate
reforms and create conditions for reversing the nega-
tive economic trends as soon as possible. Specific pro-
posals are on the table, the problem apparently lies on
the side of implementation.
The first moves new Government has made on impro-
ving the overall business environment are certainly
encouraging. The fiscal consolidation is a step forward
in the right direction. According to the latest World
Bank Doing Business report, our country is ranked 86
among 185 countries regarding ease of doing busine-
ss, which is a shift of nine positions. Any progress is
good, but the question is whether it is sufficient. The
task of us all, including organizations such as NALED,
is to make sure that the reforms are continued and not
to allow partial solutions. Year after year the Gover-
nment has promised to improve the labor legislation
and enable faster issuance of construction permits.
2012 economic indicators are sending a serious war-
ning that such important reforms cannot be delayed
any longer. Without them, the investors will lose pati-
ence, and investments will have no alternative.
Even in such environment, NALED has continued to
grow and serve as a very useful partner to the Gover-
nment. We have worked on identifying the obstac-
les for local economic development and moreover –
finding concrete solutions. We are proud to say that
in 2012 we took one-hundred-mile steps in condu-
cting our activities and the achieved results.
We initiated one of the largest public advocacy
campaigns in the field of regulatory reform – Ask
WHEN and shot three videos that contributed to the
resolving of several specific problems faced by Serbi-
an businesses. We received acknowledgement and re-
cognition for our work through participation in two
working bodies of the Government. We contributed
to the elimination of 138 para-fiscal charges and two
thirds of documents required for medical leave. We
expanded our presence in the region through the pro-
ject Business-Friendly Certification South East Euro-
pe, awarded the certificates to companies operating
in socially responsible manner, continued the promo-
tion of Serbia’s investment potentials.
As the largest public-private association in the cou-
ntry, we are free to say that we have created a solid
ground for further work, which is why we firmly beli-
eve in the success of our numerous plans. All of them
remain focused on the well-known goals – prosperi-
ty of citizens and businesses, predictable business en-
vironment, efficient administrative procedures, clear
regulations and good image of Serbia as investment
destination. Stronger than ever, we are focusing on
firm and competitive Serbia and satisfied citizens and
businesses.
Vladimir Čupić
President of NALED Managing Board
word from the president

170organizations, including the most successful
companies, local governments and NGOs, support
economic development of Serbia as NALED members
The Government of Republic of Serbia accepted 18recommendations from the Grey Book for improving the
100,000,000€ are the estimated
annual savings for businesses brought by the elimination of 138 para-fiscal charges
more than 70conferences,
round tables and working
luncheons brought together
the leaders of public, private
and civil sector around the
common goal – strengthening
the competitiveness of
domestic economy
more than1,900releases
in national and local media ensured high visibility
and influence of the Alliance and its members
3,600,000domestic and foreign passengers have seen the investment
promotion campaign at Belgrade airport
214,000page views and 93,000visits
positioned NALED website among the most visited in the category of business associations
46local governments have improved their
business environment through NALED Business-Friendly
Certification program, accepted by world-known
certification companies TUV and SGS
more than 40national and international
institutions support
NALED activities and goals
2012 in numbers
in one year, 19employees in NALED realized projects and activities worth
aiming to encourage local economic development of Serbia
1,000,000€

T
here are many reasons why the year of 2012
was a turning point for NALED, but only
some of them will find their place in this
short report. The first EU project for investment
promotion, new office space in the heart of Belgrade
and Policy Team as NALED’s new strength, contri-
buted to capacity building and long-term stability
of our organization.
Longtime commitment to local economic development
initiated an avalanche of change. The word „LED“ has
a whole different meaning for municipalities than
„small colorful lights“, while the concept of business-
friendly environment is working in practice, large-
ly due to NALED’s municipal certification program
BFC, which grew into a regional initiative in 2012.
International acknowledgement came from the world-
known media, when the Financial Times ranked five
Serbian municipalities with NALED Certificate among
the top investment destinations in South East Europe
2012/13.
Along with efficient administration, good business
environment also requires adequate regulatory fra-
mework. Based on NALED pioneer study on non-tax
and para-fiscal burden, the Ministry of Finance and
Economy eliminated 138 para-fiscal charges, resu-
lting in annual savings of RSD 10 billion. Through
projects such as the By-Law Barometer and Calcula-
tor of local expenses, NALED raised the bar of legisla-
tion process transparency and local fiscal policy. The
Grey Book of regulations saw its fifth edition, and the
new national campaign Ask WHEN was a genuine ta-
ilwind for reforms. As one of the leading authorities
in the field of monitoring the legislation activity and
measuring the public administration performance,
NALED maintained its practice of quarterly repo-
rting on the status of reforms in Serbia and remained
the only pillar of Comprehensive Regulatory Reform.
In late 2012, as additional control and correctio-
nal mechanism for institutions, Regulatory Index of
Serbia (RIS) was developed as the first neutral in-
dicator of the regulatory environment quality for
doing business.
In consideration of reforms, NALED speaks on behalf
of 170 members, involving the most successful com-
panies, municipalities and NGOs in Serbia. With the
support of members and partners, such as USAID,
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusamme-
narbeit(GIZ),OpenSocietyFoundation,EUDelegation,
RTS, SEWEA, Nikola Tesla Airport, NALED has imple-
mented more than 40 projects for the development of
domestic economy. The backbone of all activities and
projects is the Executive Office, whose expert team of
19 people realized revenues of EUR 1 million in 2012.
Five years ago, when NALED started its independent
work in small offices at the edge of Skadarlija, few
people could imagine that this organization with an
unusual name would grow into the largest private-
public association in the country, a champion in the
battle for local economic development and better
business conditions.
Milica Stefanović
NALED Marketing Director
executive office report

NALED mission is to improve the business environment in Serbia through
institutional reforms and active participation and cooperation of businesses,
local governments and citizens. NALED is focused on three main goals:
1. Improving the regulatory framework for doing business
2. Municipal capacity building for economic development
3. Promotion of dialogue between the private and public sector
activities

nALeD tends to support and promote regulatory
reforms in serbia with active participation and co-
operation of businesses and public sector. Throu-
gh projects and initiatives such as By-Law Barome-
ter, Calculator of local business expenses, regulatory
Index of serbia, Quarterly report on regulatory reform
status and selection of Top reformer, nALeD posi-
tioned itself as the leading authority in the field of
monitoring and measuring the performance of public
administration. Additionally, nALeD prepares vario-
us studies, analyses of regulations and strategic do-
cuments for improving the business environment (vi-
sion 2016), as well as specific recommendations to
the government for the elimination of administrati-
ve obstacles for doing business (grey Book of regu-
lations). nALeD efforts gained special strength and
structure from the Council for regulatory reform,
which has been successfully operating for two years.
LeGisLative activities
With the beginning of new government’s legislation
activity, nALeD became actively involved in the pre-
paration of comments to new draft laws and reco-
mmendations for improving the legal framework.
In cooperation with UsAID and AmCham, nALeD
prepared a comment to the Draft Law on Public
Procurement and participated in public debate re-
garding this topic, in order to influence the change
of provisions leaving space for corruption.
Upon publication of the Draft Law on Public enter-
prises, we prepared a comment and a recommen-
dation for the Ministry of Finance and economy.
namely, nALeD stand is that the problem of poor
IMPrO vI ng Th e regULATOry FrAMeWOrk
FOr DO I ng BUsIn ess
performance of public enterprises cannot be resol-
ved only with „departization“ of management, that
the new Draft Law reduced only to the provision
of appointing public companies’ directors through
public calls. There is a need for substantial chan-
ge of the concept of public enterprises, in the sense
that they should be seen as state-owned companies
the state would manage just like any other owner.
The public companies would be subject to Compa-
ny Law and the same rules of corporate governance
that apply to private sector. This would create con-
ditions for transparent and responsible functioning
and operations of public enterprises, in accordance
with the practice of good corporate governance and
corporate social responsibility.
nALeD also submitted suggestions to the Ministry of
Finance and economy about the Draft Law on Dead-
lines for settling Financial Obligations in Commer-
cial Transactions. nALeD considers that mandatory
regulation of payment deadlines referring to private
entities represents serious limitation of the freedom
of agreement, which is one of the basic principles of
contract law. Therefore, the main suggestion regar-
ding this Draft Law is that the deadlines for payment
may only be determined for the public sector. remar-
ks were also submitted to other regulations that devi-
ate from the principles of contract law.
nALeD is one of the permanent members of the
Working group for the reform of labor-related laws
initiated by UsAID. At several events with the repre-
sentatives of unions, employers, governments and
International Labor organization, nALeD sugge-
sted compromises on the issues identified as points

13
www.naled-serbia.org/propisi
of disagreement among the dialogue participants.
NALED argued for more flexible employment, resol-
ving the problem of severance pay, different taxa-
tion of employment for specified and unspecified
time period and stimulation of social entrepreneur-
ship. The new Labor Law is expected to be adopted
by the end of 2013.
At the initiative of member local governments,
NALED analyzed the practice of providing incenti-
ves to agriculture workers at the level of local go-
vernments. In the previous period, some munici-
palities established agriculture development funds
which provided a certain type of loan support. NA-
LED expressed the view that such practice was not
in accordance with the nature and goals of funds
as non-profit organizations, and suggested munici-
palities should design different types of support for
their agriculture. This matter shall be governed by
the new Law on incentives in agriculture and rural
development, which was drafted and entered the
Parliament procedure in late 2012. Therefore it is
expected that the forms of support the local go-
vernments provide to agriculture and rural develo-
pment will be defined in a more precise manner,
thus removing all concerns and problems arising in
practice regarding this matter.
Legislative Tracking System (LTS)
NALED's online system for monitoring and analysis
of regulations - Legislative Tracking System – conta-
ins expert reviews and comments to the legislation
regulating the business environment in Serbia and
provides insight into the relevant legislation. Wi-
th more than 27,000 views annually, this page has
been one of the most frequently visited on NALED
website, for several years in a row.
In 2012 we published new content and comments
to Draft Law on Public Enterprises and Draft Law
on Deadlines for Settling Financial Obligations in
Commercial Transactions. Additionally, there was
huge interest for the legal analyses of the Law on
Planning and Construction, Law on State Survey
„In case of emergency
on an airplane,
parents are the ones
who should put the
mask first, and then
help the children.
Similarly, in the
situation of crisis,
we need to revive
the economy first,
for the citizens to
have a better life as
well“ – Jadranka
Jelinčić, Open Society
Foundation

14
Consequences of incomplete regulations
The Cinema Law, adopted in January 2012, stipulates adoption of four by-laws, including a
regulation on the incentives for the film industry. The delay in adoption of these regulations
was more than 170 days in early 2013. The consequences are shown in the analysis by the
Serbian Film Association – due to the delay in adoption of regulation on the incentives for
production of foreign cinematographic works in the Republic of Serbia, over the previous
three years our country has lost EUR 100 million of foreign direct investments!
barometar.naled-serbia.org
Statistics of by-law adoption (2011-2012)
Not adopted (no deadline):
2,76%
Not adopted (late):
37,02%
Adopted (on time):
18,78%
Adopted (with delay):
36,46%
and Cadaster, Law on Copyright and Related Ri-
ghts, Decree on encouraging the use of renewable
energy sources, Trade Law and Company Law.
By-Law Barometer
Since 2011, NALED has been regularly monitoring
and measuring the level of legislative activity in Ser-
bia through the By-Law Barometer. This is a unique
online application enabling comprehensive insight
into the status of adopting by-laws such as regulati-
ons, decrees, decisions and instructions, which are
crucial for the implementation of new laws.
Today, the Barometer monitors 27 systemic laws regu-
lating the business environment in Serbia and directly
influencing the competitiveness of domestic economy.
In addition to the previously analyzed regulations, su-
ch as the Energy Law, Law on Planning and Construc-
tion, Company Law, Trade Law or Tourism Law, in
2012 NALED further developed the Barometer by in-
troducing 10 new laws: Law on Registering Procedu-
re in Business Register Agency, Law on Public Proper-
ty, Law on Mining and Geological Research, Law on
Public-Private Partnerships and Concessions, Law on
Utility Services, Patent Law, Law on Prevention of Ha-
rassment at Work, Gender Equality Act, Cinema Law,
Law on Food Safety and Law on Livestock.
Based on a thorough analysis, NALED identified
more than 360 by-laws that need to be adopted in
order to enable law enforcement, avoid inconsistent
implementation and reduce corruption.
The Barometer shows that 2012 as the election ye-
ar negatively influenced the responsible institutions,
that continued the trend of late adoption of by-laws.
In the year behind us, there were only 78 adopted by-
laws - 3 on time, 67 late compared to the legally de-
fined deadlines, while deadlines for the remaining 8
were not defined.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technologi-
cal Development was the most efficient in 2012, i.e.
its Intellectual property Office, which adopted 32
regulations (with a delay of 149 days) necessary for
the implementation of Patent Law. The same mini-
stry also adopted 2 regulations required for the im-
plementation of Law on Optic Disks.
Average delay in days (2011-2012)
Not adopted (late)
Adopted (with delay)
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Not adopted (deadline not
expired): 4,97%

15
improvingtheregulatoryframeworkfordoingbusiness
The Ministry of Justice adopted 16 regulations and
other acts required for the implementation of Law
on Enforcement and Security, with delays ranging
from 113 to 168 days. The Ministry in charge of im-
plementation of Law on Planning and Construction
adopted 6 regulations with average delay of as mu-
ch as 773 days.
For the first time in Serbia, the Barometer enabled
the public to gain quick and easy insight into the le-
gislation activity of the state authorities and their
tendency to (not) comply with the deadlines.
Grey Book
One of the key mechanisms that NALED uses in ad-
vocating for changes and appealing to responsible
institutions is the Grey Book of regulations – annu-
al publication containing proposals made by busi-
nesses for removing the administrative obstacles for
doing business in Serbia. In December, we published
the fifth, improved edition of Grey Book containing
22 new among a total of 76 recommendations for
improving the business environment. Some of the
new recommendations that stand out involve: eli-
mination of employment record book and health
insurance card, abolition of certain court fees and
equalization of the amounts of court fees for physi-
cal persons and business entities, simplifying the
procedure for VAT refund for purchase of the first
apartment, shortening of the procedure for registe-
ring the property right for real estate. Given the fo-
cus of the Grey Book, the largest number of recom-
mendations (35) referred to the Ministry of Finance
and Economy, followed by the Ministry of Health
with 8 recommendations and Ministry of Construc-
tion and Urbanism with 7.
During 2012, 6 problems identified in the Grey Bo-
ok were resolved, and additional 12 are undergoing
the procedure. The resolved problems involve elimi-
nation of mandatory notification about the change
of VAT taxpayer data, simplified procedure for ope-
ning an account in commercial banks, eliminated
The problem of reimbursement for
pregnancy and maternity leave
Responding to the campaign Ask WHEN and
NALED’s initiative to make life easier for working
pregnant women and their employees, in 2012 the
Ministry of Health reduced by 2/3 the number
of documents required for exercising the right to
reimbursement for pregnancy leave and other medical
leaves longer than 30 days! Before that, a pregnant
woman who spent five months on leave and her
employer would have to visit the counters of Republic
Health Insurance Fund (RHIF) five times, perform
average salary adjustment three times and submit
a total of 43 papers to the RHIF. As the campaign
result, the monthly salary reimbursement procedure
now requires only 4 documents: report on temporary
inability to work (doctor’s certificate), certificate of
acquired income (form OZ-7), list of accrued salaries
and a bank contract on opening a specific account for
medical leave (submitted only first time).
National Assembly Hall:
Promotion of Grey Book V
local utility fee for company name display for entre-
preneurs and small businesses (the so-called signa-
ge fee), simplified procedure for exercising the right
to reimbursement for pregnancy and other medi-
cal leaves longer than 30 days, as well as the abo-
lished obligation to record the concluded foreign-
trade transactions. Along with the elimination of

16
local utility fees, the para-fiscal cuts also brought
the elimination of so-called forest fee and three pa-
ra-fiscal charges in construction, while the reform
of court fees was only touched upon.
During the previous 5 years, since the first grey Bo-
ok was published, serbian government has adop-
ted and implemented a total of 24 nALeD recom-
mendations, which brought several million worth
savings to domestic businesses.
LOcaL GRey BOOk
Modeled on the national grey Book, with the sup-
port of UsAID sustainable Local Development Pro-
ject and in cooperation with local governments and
regional and local associations of businesses and
entrepreneurs, nALeD initiated the campaign for
identifying administrative obstacles for doing busi-
ness at the local level – in cities niš and Leskovac
and municipalities Merošina, Doljevac and gadžin
han. The result was Local grey Book, containing 21
recommendations for improving the local busine-
ss environment, which had its official promotion in
september 2012 at the building of niš University.
even though the initial idea was to collect recommen-
dations for improving the local regulations and prac-
tices of city/municipal authorities, it was shown that
business operation are still mostly impeded by the
laws and practices of national authorities. The biggest
problem for entrepreneurs in southern serbia are high
taxes and numerous and non-transparent para-fiscal
charges. Businesses also complained about the pro-
cedures and arbitrary implementation of the regula-
tions made by national authorities – in particular the
Customs Administration, republic geodetic Authori-
ty, republic Pension and Disability Insurance Fund,
Tax Administration. regarding the local administrati-
on, most suggestions referred to inconsistent applica-
tion of the Law on Planning and Construction and low
efficiency of urbanism departments.
Local grey Book is a new mechanism that can be
used by cities and municipalities in order to collect
ideas for improving the local business environment,
encourage corporate activity, improve relations wi-
th the existing businesses and allow their voices to
be heard on the national level as well. The success
of this concept is also confirmed by private initiati-
ves, such as the Zrenjanin grey Book, which was ini-
tiated and independently published by the associa-
tion of Zrenjanin entrepreneurs ZrePOk.
ask wheN campaiGN
InJune2012,fouryearsafterinitiatingtheactionOut
of the maze, with the support of serbian Broadca-
stingCorporation(rTs),UsAIDBusinessenabling
Project (BeP) and the Open society Foundation,
nALeD launched the new national campaign for
the improvement of business environment, named
Ask when. The campaign involves broadcasting of
short videos at rTs, which humorously illustrate
various bureaucratic troubles faced by businesses
and citizens in serbia (complicated procedures,
high and unnecessary taxes, unenforceable laws).
The videos appeal to the responsible institutions
to promise When the identified problems would
be resolved, and invite citizens and businesses to
join the initiative by asking their own When que-
stion via nALeD website.

17
and medium enterprises and forcing them to close
or move to the grey economy zone. The third video
„Reality show: Building a factory!“ deals with the
problem of lengthy and complicated procedure for
obtaining building permits in Serbia, which is co-
sting us new investments and jobs.
The videos designed by the creative team of Njuz.net
and NALED Executive Office drew much attention of
the business and professional community, which bro-
ught equally notable results. After only a few months
of broadcasting on RTS, the Ministry of Health adop-
ted NALED recommendations and reduced by 2/3
the number of documents required for exercising the
right to reimbursement for pregnancy leave, but also
all other medical leaves lasting longer than 30 days.
The initiative for reducing the number of para-fiscal
charges, launched with the second video, resulted in
elimination of 138 fees and charges. One of the rea-
sons for such high efficiency of reforms was certainly
the support of many members and partners who de-
cided to join the campaign: Hypo Alpe-Adria, Tigar,
JTI, Contango, Energoprojekt, Asseco SEE, Belmedic,
Privredna banka Beograd, Zepter, Hotel Crystal, Web
Sistem Media, Infostud, Limundo, TV B92 Info, TV
Panonija - Novi Sad, RTV Šumadija - Aranđelovac, TV
Kladovo - Kladovo, RTV VK – Kikinda.
The issue with construcion permits
Within the Doing Business 2013 report, published
annually by the World Bank, Serbia ranks 179 out of
185 countries regarding the speed of building permits
issuance. This is by far the worst rank in 10 categories,
included in the list and one spot lower than the last year's
result. An investor in our country needs to go through 18
procedures in order to obtain the permit, and spends an
average of 269 days. The cost of obtaining the permit is
estimated to be 1,427.2% of income per capita, which
is almost three times more expensive than the countries
in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and 18 times more
expensive than the member countries of Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The main problem with the issuance of building permits
lies in inconsistent legal framework and large number
of participants in the decision-making process. There
are as much as 20 spots where the investors can find
the procedure slowed down or stopped due to various
approvals or authorizations they need to obtain.
The first video „Pregnant woman countering the sy-
stem“ illustrated the problem of excessive admini-
stration in Serbia, at the example of an employer
and his pregnant employee who need to collect mo-
re than 100 papers in order to exercise the right to
reimbursement for pregnancy and maternity leave.
The next video „Para-fiscal zone“ presents the story
of a young entrepreneur Petar Mitrović and the pro-
blem of excessive fees and charges burdening small
Videos of the
campaign Ask
WHEN: „Pregnant
woman countering
the system“, „Reality:
Building a factory“
and „Para-fiscal
zone“

18
The priority for 2013 remains the initiative for simpli-
fying the procedure for obtaining building permits.
Quarterly report on regulatory reform
For three years in a row, NALED has been monitoring
the regulatory activity in Serbia and preparing a quar-
terly report on the progress and results of Comprehensi-
ve Regulatory Reform and the Grey Book. The Quarter-
ly report also contains and overview of new regulations
affecting the quality of business environment, as well as
the analysis of By-Law Barometer. This mechanism in-
troduces transparency into the process of conducting
regulatory reforms and encourages responsible instituti-
ons to act in a more efficient manner.
The first quarter of 2012 was marked by the prepa-
rations for the pre-election campaign, which had a
negative impact on the work of institutions in Ser-
bia, particularly the executive authorities. Regula-
tory activity was reduced by 25% compared to the
previous quarter and was mostly reduced to pro-
vision of guarantees, i.e. signing of agreements re-
garding bilateral and multilateral funding of various
projects with the state being the beneficiary.
This trend culminated in the second quarter. The
regulatory activities of the Parliament were prac-
tically non-existent, due to the scheduled elections
and post-election negotiations regarding the esta-
blishment of Government. In June, in accordance wi-
th the Law, the new Parliament withdrew all legisla-
tion proposals (a total of 75) from the Parliament
procedures and returned them to the proposers. It
should be noted that these were very important laws,
of systematic importance for the economy, such as:
Bill on the Officials in Local Government Units, Bill
on the General Administrative Procedure, Bill on De-
velopment Bank, Bill on Private security and Bill of
Employment of Foreign Citizens, Bill on writing off
the interest for late payment of taxes and contributi-
ons for mandatory social insurance.
The third quarter brought a major shift in regula-
tory activity, above all thanks to the newly-formed
Ministry of Finance and Economy that conducted a
decisive reform of para-fiscal charges, based on the
study prepared by NALED and USAID. Out of 138
para-fiscals that were eliminated, the state collec-
ted most of the revenues (84%) and a smaller sha-
re went to the local governments (16%). Abolition
of the famous signage fee brought the largest savin-
gs to small and medium enterprises. The obligation
of paying the so-called forest fee was also elimina-
ted, bringing savings of more than EUR 17 million
for the businesses. Amendments to the Law on Bud-
get System introduced two important rules: 1) the
amount of a fee needs to be proportional to the cost
of service-provision and 2) a fee cannot be charged
for obtaining of documents from one state authori-
ty upon the request of another one. It is important
to note another significant reform that occurred in
this period: starting from October 1, the general VAT
rate was raised from 18% to 20%, and the limit for
mandatory transition of businesses to the VAT regi-
me was raised to RSD 8 million and an option of
paying VAT upon collection of receivables was intro-
duced. In spite of intense regulatory activity, only one
part of the work was performed in the third quarter.
Regulatory Index of
Serbia: Joe Lowther,
USAID BEP i Toplica
Spasojević, NALED MB

19
The problem of para-fiscal charges in certain areas
was barely touched upon (e.g. construction), and
there was no significant progress regarding excessive
bureaucracy either.
In the fourth quarter, new steps were made regar-
ding the business environment. Musical dinar, one
of the most controversial para-fiscals, was abo-
lished for craftsmen and reduced for owners of re-
staurants and other hospitality facilities (Copyright
Law). Longtime tax debtors received an opportunity
to be written off the penalty interest and repay their
principal debt in installments. The Law on Foreign
Exchange Operations was adopted, which should
remove the obstacles to free flow of capital. Citi-
zens may take loans abroad for a period of more
than one year. The Law should enable the arrival of
the famous PayPal and online payments, even thou-
gh it does not allow opening a bank account abro-
ad (this will not be possible as long as Serbia recor-
ds higher money outflow than inflow). Other new
laws that were adopted involved Law on Public Pro-
curement, Law on Deadlines for Settling Financial
Obligations in Commercial Transactions (starting
from April 2013, the state and public companies
will settle their obligations towards businesses wit-
hin a 45-day deadline, while the private companies
will need to settle their obligations towards the sta-
te and other private companies within a maximum
of 60 days), Law on Public Companies.
Regulatory Index of Serbia (RIS)
In late 2012, with the support of USAID, NALED de-
signed the first neutral indicator of the quality of re-
gulatory environment for doing business in our co-
untry – Regulatory Index of Serbia (RIS). RIS is a
quantitative, summary indicator of legislative pro-
cess transparency, quality and cost of law enforce-
ment, the promptness of law implementation by the
state, and its efficiency in removing administrative
obstacles for doing business. The Index consists of six
components, formed based on 15 indicators. Each
component describes one segment of the regulatory
process – from initiation of legislation changes, to
their preparation and implementation.
Based on a detailed analysis NALED calculated the
value of Regulatory Index of Serbia, and in 2012 it
was 31.7 out of a maximum of 100 points. Such low
value of RIS supports the fact that, regardless of the
high legislative activity in the past several years, the
quality of regulations and the manner of their adop-
tion and implementation is still a stumbling block for
companies in Serbia. Businesses need stable policy
(with no sudden changes in legal provisions), grea-
ter legal certainty (consistent implementation of the
law), cheaper and more efficient administration and
more transparent communication with the state au-
thorities. According to RIS, the fore mentioned as-
pects of business environment are not at a satisfac-
tory level. The best evaluated RIS component refers to
the availability of information, primarily via Internet.
In order to verify the validity of RIS, in November
2012 NALED conducted a survey of business opini-
ons on a sample of 250 companies. High correlati-
on (85%) between the perception of businesses and
REGULATORNI INDEKS SRBIJE
Correlation of business attitudes with RIS results
Resolving regulatory
issues
5
4
3
2
1
Promptness in law
implementation
Quality and
thoroughness
in preparing
regulations
Public character of the process
of preparing regulations
Regulatory
burden
Availability of
information

20
Regulatory Index, as observed in the survey anal-
ysis, tells us that the businesses are aware of the
real image of the regulatory environment quality,
and on the other hand, it confirms that RIS is a go-
od indicator of the situation and state of legislative
process in Serbia.
Business pulse
In November 2012, with the support of USAID Bu-
siness Enabling Project, NALED conducted the first
in a series of business surveys regarding the quali-
ty of business environment. „Business Pulse” will be
measured on a quarterly basis, in order to monitor
the effects of regulatory reforms to the private sec-
tor in our country.
For this purpose, NALED hired the agency Ipsos Stra-
tegic Marketing, which conducted a survey among
250 businesses and entrepreneurs across Serbia. Re-
garding th Government regulatory activity, the hi-
ghest marks were received for availability of informa-
tion regarding new regulations, and the lowest for
administrative procedures and respecting the views
of businesses. 89% of the respondents had never par-
ticipated in public debates, and 63% did not receive
information about an ongoing public debate. Most
companies state that in 2012 they spent the same
or higher amount of time on administrative tasks,
compared to 2011. On average, a company director
spends 30% of working hours dealing with admini-
strative and regulatory issues. The biggest burden for
businesses are wage taxes and contributions and un-
fair competition (businesses operating in grey zone).
As for the lengthy procedures, obtaining of certifica-
tes in Tax Administration and acquiring constructi-
on permits are the leaders on the list. Regarding the
procedure frequency, the greatest burden is the ad-
ministrative work with PDI fund, RHIF (registering
and cancellation of employees) and Tax Administra-
tion. Businesses are slightly optimistic regarding em-
ployment in the forthcoming period, and their expec-
tations are negative in terms of net revenues.
Code of public-private cooperation
Aiming to encourage dialogue and improve cooperati-
on between the public and private sector, NALED defi-
ned the first Code of Cooperation of the Government
of Republic of Serbia with the Businesses, containing
the key principles of good governance. The applica-
tion of these principles implies that the Government
involves businesses into decision-making processes re-
garding the improvement of business environment, in
a transparent and responsible manner.
The Code was promoted in front of the EU Delega-
tion, USAID and foreign embassies, as additional
stimulus for the national and local institutions. The
principles of good governance were first recognized
and accepted by local leaders – Mayors of Niš, Le-
skovac, Gadžin Han, Doljevac and Merošina, who
signed the Code of Cooperation with businesses at
the promotion of Local Grey Book.
Led by the Code principles, NALED established co-
operation with the General Secretariat of the Go-
vernment, in order to improve the transparency and
efficiency of the Government’s and ministries’ work
through: publication of annual plans for regulatory
activities, the control of law enforcement, i.e. pro-
cess of by-laws adoption, publication of draft laws
at ministries’ or Government’s website, publication
of opinions provided by the ministries, concerning
law application and interpretation, more detailed
regulations governing the field of holding public de-
bates, as well as obligatory publication of all Con-
clusions made by the Government.
kalkulator.naled-serbia.org
7 principles of good governance
1. Functional system for cooperation with businesses
2. Predictable regulatory framework for doing business
3. Controlled implementation and regulatory impact analysis
4. Simple procedures for doing business
5. Clear fiscal policy
6. Efficient and available public services
7. Transparent cooperation with businesses

21
Calculator
Calculator is a unique online application for calcu-
lating and comparing the costs of doing business in
local governments in Serbia. The idea and initiative
to establish the Calculator originated from NALED
members, by businesses that pointed out the pro-
blem of understanding certain local fees and char-
ges and their transparency. During 2012, NALED
updated the database and included 8 additional
municipalities in the Calculator, which now enables
calculation of 7 most important utility fees, charges
and taxes for 10 different types of companies (seve-
ral types of factories, bank, bakery, hotel, hair sa-
lon, design studio, pharmacy, mobile network ope-
rator) in 48 cities and municipalities.
From the point of view of businesses and entrepre-
neurs, the significance of Calculator is in introdu-
cing transparency and predictability into the cal-
culation and planning of local business costs, and
enabling comparison among local governments in
terms of price competitiveness. From the perspecti-
ve of municipalities, the Calculator may help in defi-
ning fiscal policies, as well as in planning of budget
revenues collected from businesses.
Quantitative analysis of Calculator data contribu-
ted to identification and reform of para-fiscal char-
ges such as the signage fee.
Para-fiscal charges
From November 2011 to May 2012, with the su-
pport of USAID Business Enabling Project (BEP),
NALED worked on creating the first study on para-fis-
cal charges in Serbia. The para-fiscal charges involve
all payments to the state made by citizens and busi-
nesses, who receive little or no right, service or goods
in return. In addition to forcing companies to close or
move to grey economy, para-fiscals represent one of
the barriers for entering the market, which means less
foreign investments. The goal of this initiative was to
create a comprehensive list of para-fiscal charges in
Serbia, provide assessment of costs and effects they
cause for businesses and prepare recommendations
for their mitigation, all based on inputs from busine-
sses and insight into the legislation.
The study results, presented at Media Center in
April 2012, showed that there were more than 370
non-tax forms, at least 179 of them being charac-
terized as para-fiscal. The study tested 77 non-tax
forms which are collected through the Treasury and
it was determined that in 2011 the state collected
around EUR 730 million from these charges. This
means that the state collected at least EUR 100 per
each citizen of Serbia through these non-tax forms,
without presenting a clear report of spending these
funds. This amount represents 2% of Serbia's GDP,
i.e. more than 40% value of the foreign direct inves-
tments we were able to attract in the previous year.
As for the businesses, this is a cost of at least EUR
570 per employee on an annual basis.
No. Non-tax form Amount (RSD)
1 Land use fee 14,671,779
2 Land development fee 10,432,858
3 Republic administrative fees 9,275,347
4 Signage fee 4,987,541
5
Fee for use of data from the real
estate cadaster
3,443,963
6
Utility fee for keeping motor and
road vehicles and trailers
3,045,724
7
Fee for use of mineral and
geothermal resources
2,857,608
8
Fee for emission of SO2,NO2,
particulate matters and
disposed waste
2,234,218
9
Fee for products that become
special waste flows after use
2,149,291
10
Special fee for environment
protection and improvement
2,128,912
10 highest non-tax revenues in 2011 (in RSD 000)

22
NALED initiative for easing the para-fiscal burden
was accepted by the Ministry of Finance and Eco-
nomy which formed a Working group for para-fiscal
charges in July, with NALED being one of the partici-
pants along with Standing Conference of Towns and
Municipalities (SCTM) and other relevant partners.
Already in September, at the proposal of the Gover-
nment, the Parliament adopted a decision on amen-
ding the Law on Local Government Finance, Law
on Republic Administrative Fees and Tobacco Law,
which led to elimination of 138 para-fiscal charges.
According to the estimates made by Ministry of Fi-
nance, this will bring annual savings of around RSD
10 billion for businesses and citizens. The most im-
portant novelty for businesses is the elimination of
the so-called signage fee for entrepreneurs and small
businesses. The abolition of the so-called forest fee,
i.e. fee for protection, utilization and improvement
of general forest functions also brought significant
savings. For the purpose of ensuring cheaper and
simpler registration of vehicles, the fee for motor ve-
hicles, tractors and trailers was eliminated. In 2011,
the amount collected through this fee was RSD 1.48
billion, so the new measure will bring savings of up
to RSD 4,000 for all citizens who register their cars.
The fees for keeping domestic and exotic animals we-
re also deleted from the tariff book, as well as a fee
for keeping musical devices and organizing musical
programs in cafes and restaurants.
By creating a more stimulating and fair tax system,
the state will discourage grey economy and unfair
competition, and promote creation of new compa-
nies and new jobs, which will result in higher tax ba-
sis and larger budget revenues for the state.
The problem of unsuccessful
privatizations
Privatization agency of the Republic of Serbia termi-
nated a large number of privatization contracts due
to breach of contractual obligations by the buyers.
The companies with canceled privatization are un-
dergoing the process of restructuring or bankruptcy.
Many of these companies were the pillars of econo-
mic activity in local governments and their current
status represents a serious or potential social and
economic problem for the local communities. In or-
der to determine the scope of problem, NALED asked
its members – cities and municipalities – to provide
Loc. Government Bankruptcy Employees Restr. Employees
Apatin 6 N/A 1 33
Bač 1 0 1 9
Bečej 7 1566 0 0
Ivanjica 121 N/A 1 N/A
Kragujevac 13 N/A 8 2710
Kula 5 0 2 262
Loznica 2 64 0 0
Negotin 9 449 1 362
Odžaci 5 60 1 269
Požega 0 0 1 139
Prokuplje 3 N/A 1 N/A
Ruma 114 N/A N/A N/A
Subotica 30 3145 1 17
V. Banja 1 N/A 2 N/A
Zaječar 13 75 0 0
Total 330 5359 20 3801
Study on para-fiscal
charges: Dušan Vasiljević,
USAID BEP and Branko
Radulović, Faculty of Law

23
the information regarding the companies in their
territory that are currently bankrupt or undergoing
restructuring due to unsuccessful privatization. The
survey showed that in 15 local governments there are
as many as 330 bankrupt companies and 20 com-
panies in restructuring. Even though the number of
companies in restructuring process is much lower, in
most cases they have a larger number of employees.
NALED and the Center for Bankruptcy of the Pri-
vatization Agency agreed to organize meetings wi-
th municipalities in order to explain the bankruptcy
procedure and how the municipalities can assist in
more efficient management of bankruptcy cases. In
further efforts in this regard, NALED will tend to de-
velop cooperation with the Center for Restructuring
of the Privatization Agency, in order to explore opti-
ons for more active involvement of municipalities in
the company restructuring processes.
Increase of property tax
collection rate
In 2012, NALED conducted an evaluation of the
effects of public works for property registration in
Senta, Kikinda and Požarevac. This was performed
within the project NALED realized in 2011 with the
support of National Employment Service, aiming to
increase the property tax collection rate in these lo-
cal governments.
In Požarevac, more than 30,000 tax forms were dis-
tributed, 2050 new buildings and facilities were re-
gistered, as well as 1,200 new taxpayers. The action
was so successful that it enabled the city to conti-
nue this projects from their own funds in 2012 as
well. In the municipality of Senta, the number of
determined decisions rose from 5,134 to 8,028 af-
ter the public works, while the property tax collecti-
on rate among physical persons rose from 7 to mo-
re than 10 million dinars. In municipality of Kikinda
there were 3,000 new facilities identified for taxati-
on, and the tax collection rate was doubled compa-
red to the previous year.
The evaluation results show that property registration
is an extremely efficient mechanism for increasing the
tax collection rate, establishing of fair taxation system
for all citizens and increase of municipal budget.
Vision 2016: economic agenda for the
new Government
From September 2011 until late 2012, in coopera-
tion with Standing Conference of Towns and Mu-
nicipalities and with the support of Deutsche Ge-
sellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ),
NALED worked on developing and promoting the
economic agenda for the new Government – Visi-
on 2016.
In this period, 12 round tables and public discu-
ssions were organized in cities and municipalities
across Serbia: Zaječar, Sokobanja, Knjaževac, Beo-
grad, Užice, Pećinci, Čačak, Valjevo, Subotica, Vra-
nje, Aranđelovac, Sremska Mitrovica. The aim of
these meetings was to establish consensus among
the political parties, local governments and busi-
nesses regarding the program that the new Gover-
nment should implement in order to improve the
business environment and encourage economic de-
velopment. Based on the round table conclusions,
a strategic document was developed – Vision 2016,
vision2016.naled-serbia.org
Vision 2016: Toplica
Spasojević, NALED MB

24
identifying 11 key areas of progress (business pro-
gress): local economic development, education and
science, competition, tax system, capital market,
collection of receivables, infrastructure, agriculture,
incentives for the businesses, efficient administra-
tion, business associations, professionalization of
public companies.
As additional mechanism for pressuring decision-
makers to adopt the proposed measures, NALED
developed a special website vision2016.naled-ser-
bia.org promoting business reforms. The project
also analyzed the pre-election programs of politi-
cal parties (SNS, DS, SPS-PUPS-JS, URS, DSS, LDP,
SRS) in order to determine how much attention is
paid to economic issues and whether the programs
take into account the prevailing expectations of bu-
siness and professional community. The analysis
showed that the parties which paid most attention
to economic development and businesses were Uni-
ted regions of Serbia, followed by Serbian progressi-
ve party that dealt with cuts in public spending and
various abuses in the public sector, while the Socia-
list party of Serbia was more focused on the issues
of social justice and equality.
Upon the establishment of the new Government in
July, the role of NALED was to monitor the imple-
mentation of submitted recommendations and pre-
election promises during the first 100 days of the
Government term. In this period, ¼ out of 46 reco-
mmendations from Vision 2016 were realized. The
greatest progress was made in reform of public reve-
nues and expenditures, with the elimination of 138
para-fiscal charges and limiting the amount of cer-
tain fees, such as the signage fee. The Government
introduced taxation of persons and entities per-
forming unregistered or undeclared activities, with
20% tax rate – this enabled the Tax Administration
to deal with transition of grey economy into the le-
gal channels. Corporate tax, withholding taxes and
VAT were increased and will bring increased reve-
nues for the budget, while the biggest savings we-
re made through reduction of subsidies - 7 billion
dinars. The limit for mandatory transition into the
VAT regime was increased and the possibility of VAT
payment upon collection of receivables was intro-
duced. The agricultural budget was not doubled
as announced, and the greatest deviation from the
promised was seen regarding the so-called departi-
zation and the Law on Public Companies, since the
provision prohibiting appointment of party mem-
bers as company directors was left out of the Law
at the last moment. The promise of „deagencyfica-
tion” was not fulfilled, since only seven unnecessary
agencies were closed. The Government keeps hesi-
tating to introduce more flexible labor legislation
and has not showed willingness to reduce the fiscal
burden to wages. The least was probably done in
the field of education and science, and there was no
progress regarding adjustment of education profiles
in order to meet the needs of businesses.
The analysis of Government’s work was presented in
November in hotel Metropol at the conference „100
days of Government – the first results” in cooperation
with BIRN and with the support of GIZ, British Emba-
ssy and National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
Promotion of Grey Book V
and Top Reformer Award

25
Top Reformer Award
Traditionally, each December since 2009, NALED
has been awarding the Top Reformer prize to distin-
guished individuals from public administration (Mi-
nister, Mayor, head of an agency), whose efforts to
reform the state and local administration contribu-
ted to the creation of better business environment in
Serbia. Additional recognition for Promoter of Re-
forms is awarded each year to economic journalists,
i.e. the media that encouraged positive changes in
the business environment with the manner of their
reporting, selection of topics and guests.
The candidates for NALED award are nominated by
members. Each member has the right to nominate a
maximum of three representatives for each category,
with an appropriate explanation. A novelty in 2012 is
the introduction of a rule that the candidates for Top
Reformer award can only be those individuals from pu-
blic administration who contributed to the improve-
ment of business environment, in close cooperation wi-
th NALED. The final selection among candidates with
well justified and complete nominations is performed
by NALED MB with the support of Executive Office,
free of individual and personal interests, and led by the
idea that the award should be given to distinguished
public officials whose reform results in cooperation wi-
th NALED unequivocally deserve acknowledgement.
In 2012, the Top Reformer award went to the State Se-
cretary in the Ministry of Health, Simo Vuković, who
had accepted NALED recommendation and reduced by
2/3 the number of documents required for reimburse-
ment for maternity and all other medical leaves longer
than 30 days, only several months after the broadcast
of the video Pregnant woman countering the system wit-
hin the campaign Ask WHEN. The Promoter of Reforms
award went to Serbian Broadcasting Corporation that
provided media support to the Ask WHEN campaign
and broadcasted NALED videos in the second half of
the year. The winners of special recognitions for reforms
in local administration in 2012 were Mayors of Sombor
and Kruševac – Nemanja Delić and Bratislav Gašić.
NALED
Reformers

sTre ng Th e nI ng MU n ICIPAL CAPACITIes
FOr e C O nO MI C D ev eLOPMen T
The key program for strengthening municipal ca-
pacities is Business Friendly Certification – BFC.
The quality of BFC process and results achieved in
serbia led to its expansion to the region of south
east europe. Campaign at the Airport, Ambassa-
dorial Initiative, network of LeD Offices, and te-
chnical assistance projects that nALeD implements
in cooperation with international institutions le-
an onto the Certification program and additio-
nally empower the cities and municipalities in their
tendencies to attract new investments and encou-
rage the development of local economy.
NetwORk Of LOcaL ecONOmic
deveLOpmeNt Offices (LedO)
Attheinitiativeofitsmembermunicipalities,inmid-
2011 nALeD established the first network of Local
economic Development Offices in serbia, in order
to connect professionals from local governments
engaged in investment and entrepreneurship pro-
motion. LeDO network represents a forum for exc-
hange of experiences and information related to
www.naled-serbia.org/ledo
financing and implementation of development pro-
jects, providing support to the existing businesses
and new investors and improving local administra-
tion, for the purpose of creating a business-friendly
environment. Additionally, the network allows mu-
nicipalities to meet and talk with investors, donors
and representatives of state institutions. so far, the
network met four times, and nALeD informs its
members on a monthly basis about the latest pro-
fessional development programs available to LeDO
representatives under subsidized conditions, as we-
ll as the current funds and projects they can apply
for at the eU, bilateral donors or the state.
nALeD’s experience and knowledge regarding fun-
ctioning of Local economic Development Offices in
serbia were published in OeCD annual publication
for 2012: LeeD Forum on Partnerships and Local
governance.
BusiNess-fRieNdLy ceRtificatiON
Business-Friendly Certification (BFC) is a process
promoting the standards of efficient and transpa-
rent local administration and enabling evaluation
of the quality of service and information provided
to investors and local businesses. BF Certificate is
valid for two years from the moment of acquiring,
and represents a guarantee that the municipality
provides high level of services to companies at all
stages of business development.
since 2007, when nALeD launched the BFC pro-
gram, until now, the Certification received support
from numerous national and international institu-
tions, including: Ministry of regional Development
III meeting of
LEDO Network

27
and Local Government, Executive Council of Voj-
vodina and later the Government of AP Vojvodina,
Provincial Secretariat for Inter-regional Cooperati-
on and Local Government, Provincial Secretariat
for Economy, Employment and Gender Equality,
National Agency for Regional Development
(NARR),U.S.AgencyforInternationalDevelopment
(USAID), Open Society Foundation, Deutsche Ge-
sellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
and Regional Development Agency of Eastern Ser-
bia (RARIS). In order to further strengthen and en-
sure complete objectivity of the certification pro-
cess, in mid-2012 NALED established cooperation
with the world-known certification companies SGS
and TÜV SUD, dealing with implementation and
verification of international quality standards such
as ISO and HACCP.
Large interest among cities and municipalities
confirms the quality and relevance of BFC pro-
gram – there are 46 local governments from Serbia
improving their business environment within
NALED's certification program. The Certificate
demonstrated its value not only in Serbia, but in
the world as well. In February 2012, Financial Ti-
mes ranked 5 municipalities from Serbia among
Top 10 investment destinations in South East Eu-
rope, and all 5 were certified by NALED. Starting
from this year, with the support of GIZ, BFC beca-
me internationally recognized standard of quality,
which is being implemented in Croatia, Macedo-
nia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, in addition to
Kruševac
Kovačica
Loznica
Nova Varoš
Novi Sad
Paraćin
Ruma
Smederevo
Sombor
Sremska Mitrovica
Stara Pazova
Užice
Valjevo
Vršac
Zaječar
Zrenjanin
Local governments with a valid Certificate
BFC Certificate
award ceremony

28
Serbia (BFC SEE – Business Friendly Certification
South East Europe).
In the past six years, 24 local governments managed
to fulfill all 12 very demanding criteria for obtaining
the Business-Friendly Certificate. From 2008 to 2011
the Certificate was awarded to 17 cities and muni-
cipalities: Bujanovac, Inđija, Kragujevac, Leskovac,
Loznica, Pirot, Subotica, Vranje, Čačak, Niš, Para-
ćin, Ruma, Sremska Mitrovica, Stara Pazova, Valje-
vo, Zaječar and Zrenjanin. In 2012, additional 8 lo-
cal governments met the requirements for obtaining
the Certificate – Užice, Kruševac, Novi Sad, Smede-
revo, Vršac, Kovačica, Sombor and Loznica (the first
city that was successfully re-certified).
Municipalities that fail to raise the standard of ope-
rations, in spite of good will and commitment of
individuals from municipal structures for a longer
period of time, were invited to dedicate more atten-
tion to the improvement of local administration or
to step out of the program: Bečej, Brus, Bajina Ba-
šta, Vlasotince, Majdanpek, Medveđa, Koceljeva,
Lapovo, Prokuplje.
Further development of BFC
standard
From October 2011 to July 2012, with the support of
USAIDSustainableLocalDevelopmentProject(SLD),
NALED performed a review of the Business-Friendly
Certification process in order to maintain and upgra-
de the level of established standards, in accordance
with the growing demands of the market.
The biggest change and improvement was intro-
duced into the evaluation system, which was fur-
ther strengthened and made additionally objective
with the involvement of international certification
companies SGS and TÜV SUD. This means that the
fulfillment of certification criteria will no longer be
tested and confirmed by the evaluation and veri-
fication committees, but independent certification
companies accredited by NALED.
As a part of the BFC standard review, the certificati-
on criteria have been analyzed and improved based
on the inputs received from local businesses and
certified municipalities. The 12 criteria were parti-
ally changed – instead of environment protection,
more emphasis was placed on the application of
information technologies:
1. Strategic approach to local economic development
2. Organizational capacity to support businesses (LEDO)
3. Business participation in the work of local government
(Business council)
4. Efficient building permits issuance system
5. Availability of business-relevant information
6. Applying marketing for the purpose of investment
promotion
7. Creditworthiness and financial stability
8. Employment promotion and human resources
development
9. Encouraging public-private partnerships
10. Adequate infrastructure and reliable utility services
11. Transparent local fees, taxes and incentives policy
12. Applying information technologies
Sub-criteria were additionally refined and their num-
ber was reduced to 81. The evaluation was made
Mystery shopper!
In cooperation with CeSid, using the “mystery shopper“
method, NALED verified the quality of business envi-
ronment in 3 local governments that were among the
first ones to receive the Certificate: Inđija, Pirot and
Subotica. CeSid tested the communication (via e-mail,
telephone and in person) of relevant municipal depar-
tments with zamišljenim investitorom „Alpha Research“
wishing to start a business in the local government and
employ 15 to 20 people. Overall, the best results and
investor „care“ were shown by Pirot, whose LED Offi-
ce provided the most complete information on the con-
ditions for investing. Inđija and Subotica achieved good
results regarding the website quality and knowledge of
English. Mystery shopper will become a regular test met-
hod for all municipalities that wish to obtain a Business-
Friendly Certificate.

29
more demanding, in the sense of raising the expec-
tations from municipalities. In cooperation with
certification companies, NALED introduced addi-
tional tests, the pre-requisites for joining the BFC
process were altered and the deadlines for fulfilling
the criteria were limited to a period of one year (and
6 months for re-certification). Reviewed criteria we-
re successfully tested in the municipality of Paraćin.
Additional test was introduced in the re-certificati-
on process – the „mystery shopper” research.
After reviewing and testing the certification criteria,
NALED prepared two separate manuals – for muni-
cipalities and certification companies – which we-
re promoted at the official Certificate award cere-
mony held at the National Assembly Hall.
Municipal support in Eastern Serbia
From November 2011 to September, with the sup-
port of Open Society Foundation and in cooperati-
on with Regional Development Agency for Eastern
Serbia (RARIS), NALED implemented a project for
strengthening the municipal capacities for local eco-
nomic development. The project goal was to introdu-
ce a business-friendly environment standard through
certification process in five municipalities: Boljevac,
Knjaževac, Sokobanja, Negotin and Kladovo.
As the first step towards this goal, in early March
NALED organized a two-day workshop in Kladovo
about the Business-Friendly Certification program
and the criteria required for obtaining the Busine-
ss-Friendly Certificate. The workshop was followed
by an analysis of local administration and business
environment in municipalities. After field visits and
interviews with local economic development offi-
ces, NALED's evaluators and regional consultants
from RARIS prepared recommendations for muni-
cipalities and provided technical support in achi-
eving the expected standard. Evaluation was con-
ducted in municipalities Sokobanja, Knjaževac and
Boljevac and the evaluation committee prepared its
reports. In this phase, municipalities Kladovo and
Negotin did not achieve the required results, there-
fore there were no evaluation visits.
In November 2012 the project was extended for 7
months. This period shall involve further implemen-
tation of NALED standards with active support from
RARIS regional consultants. In June 2013, NALED
will organize the official certificate award ceremony
for those municipalities that fulfill a minimum of
75% of the business-friendly environment standard.
Municipal support in Vojvodina
From December 2011 until June 2012, with the
support of Government of AP Vojvodina, NALED
worked on improving the business environment
through the Business-Friendly Certification pro-
gram in 12 local governments in Vojvodina: Bač,
Beočin, Vrbas, Vršac, Kovačica, Novi Bečej, Nova
Crnja, Novi Sad, Šid, Žitište, Ada, Kula. All local
governments, except Žitište, were selected within
Strengtheningmunicipalcapacitiesforeconomicdevelopment
NALED is
a leader in
promoting
dialogue
between private
and public sector

30
the public competition published by NALED and
Provincial Secretariat. The municipality of Žitište
joined the program later on, at their own initiative.
NALED organized advisory and evaluation visits to
municipalities. Verification was performed in local
governments that made the biggest progress, inclu-
ding Novi Sad, Kovačica and Vršac. All three local
governments successfully completed the certificati-
on process and fulfilled the requirements for obtai-
ning the certificate. Novi Sad and Vršac afterwards
engaged in the third cycle of investment promoti-
on campaign at Belgrade airport, along with other
municipalities that had been certified in the previo-
us year and a half.
Business-Friendly Certification South
East Europe (BFC SEE)
In early 2012, with the support of GIZ Open Regio-
nal Fund for Modernization of Municipal Services,
NALED initiated the first regional initiative for im-
proving the business environment and harmoni-
zing the standard of doing business in South East
Europe, by establishing the joint municipal certifi-
cation program.
The project involves creation of common standards
and seal of quality of business environment for cities
and municipalities from Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Macedonia (BFC SEE – Business
Friendly Certificate South East Europe). The project
goal is to encourage economic cooperation and mo-
bility of capital within CEFTA and investment pro-
motion in the region. The project is being implemen-
ted in cooperation with partner institutions from the
region: Ministry for Economic Relations and Regio-
nal Cooperation from the Republic of Srpska, Fede-
ral Ministry of Development, Entrepreneurship and
Crafts from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Association of
municipalities ZELS and Macedonian Chambers of
Congress:
SEE – business-
friendly region

31
Commerce from Macedonia, Faculty of Economy of
the University in Rijeka from Croatia.
BFC SEE program was officially launched in Fe-
bruary 2012 on a two-day conference that brou-
ght together ministers, mayors and other relevant
representatives of countries from the region. Pilot
municipalities selected to participate in the pro-
ject involve: Bjelovar, Ivanec, Rijeka and Crikveni-
ca from Croatia, Veles, Strumica, Štip and Struga
from Macedonia, Sanski Most, Ljubuški, Banjalu-
ka and Prijedor from Bosnia and Herzegovina. As
for the Serbian municipalities, the opportunity of
joining regional certification was offered to local
governments that had been previously certified by
the national standard.
After advisory visits and consultations with regio-
nal partners, a harmonized list of business-frien-
dly environment criteria was established, that can
be applied in all four participating countries. Fo-
ur two-day trainings were organized in April and
May – one in Belgrade for partners, and three in
Rijeka, Skoplje and Banjaluka for evaluators and
municipalities. The municipalities started the pre-
parations for the certification process. The com-
munication strategy and book of graphic standards
were prepared at the level of the whole region,
and NALED registered and protected the BFC SEE
brand and logo. The project was promoted at Bu-
siness fair in Ivanec in September, and later in No-
vember at the international conference „Internatio-
nalization of business and innovations” in Bjelovar
in Croatia. Internet platform for the promotion of
regional certification and communication among
partners, municipalities and evaluators was deve-
loped. In December, there were evaluation visits to
Veles and Strumica in Macedonia, Prijedor and Ba-
njaluka in the Republic of Srpska.
Planned activities for 2013 involve continued evalua-
tion and verification, in order to award the first certi-
ficates with BFC standards in the middle of the year.
Campaign at the Airport
The campaign for promoting investments into the
best Serbian municipalities was initiated in 2010 by
the National Alliance for Local Economic Develo-
pment (NALED) and Nikola Tesla Airport, aiming
to strengthen the image of our country as an inves-
tment destination. It involves exclusively municipa-
lities with a valid Business-Friendly Certificate. The
campaign is conducted in one-year cycles, in accor-
dance with the dynamics of certificate awards.
www.bfc-see.org

32
The campaign is unique for its targeted approa-
ch to investment promotion that proved to be the
most effective: each municipality is presented thro-
ugh a single, targeted industry sector with greatest
development potential and one success story, i.e.
successfully realized investment.
The first two cycles involved 16 certified cities and
municipalities, and in late 2012 seven new were in-
cluded – Paraćin, Užice, Kruševac, Vršac, Zrenjanin,
Novi Sad and Sombor, with the support of seven
large companies operating in their communities –
Holcim, Copper mill Sevojno (East Point), Henkel,
Fresenius Medical Care, Dijamant, United Breweri-
es of Serbia (Heineken) and Somboled (Lactalis).
Belgrade Airport provided advertising space for mo-
re than 30 municipal billboards and ads at key po-
sitions within the airport: Terminal 1, Terminal 2,
Gate and Hall A, Gate C, luggage claim – above the
stairs and next to the carrousel. NALED designed
the complete campaign, including the visual identi-
ty and the key messages and slogans for local gover-
nments. The third cycle slogan is Next investment de-
stination: Serbia. Agriculture and food and beverage
industry are among Serbia's greatest potentials, so
there were three municipalities that decided to pro-
mote this sector – Novi Sad with the slogan Harve-
sting profits, Sombor as one of the greenest cities
and Completely Natural choice for new investments,
and Zrenjanin, a city Growing Success. There is Go-
od Chemistry between Kruševac and the investors,
announcing revitalization of the famous chemical
industry. Metal works in Užice, the construction in-
dustry brings Concrete business in Paraćin, and Vr-
šac as pharmaceutical industry development center
represents a genuine Healthy investment.
So far, the campaign has brought a lot of attenti-
on and positive reactions from the domestic and
foreign public and the media, and its significan-
ce and range is proven with the fact that in 2012
Belgrade Airport hosted more than 3.6 million
passengers from the country and abroad, inclu-
ding a large number of business people and po-
tential investors.
Ambassadorial Initiative
Ambassadorial Initiative is the project designed by
NALED in mid-2011, aiming to encourage cooperation
Investment
promotion
campaign at
Nikola Tesla
Airport

33
among local governments, foreign embassies and busi-
nesses in the field of local economic development.
The initiative means forming of so-called Ambassa-
dorial teams for a two-year period, around busine-
ss-friendly cities and municipalities. Certified local
governments are awarded one successful company
and one embassy, in order to work together on pro-
moting investments and building municipal capaci-
ties. The role of embassies and companies is to act
as experienced mentors and assist municipalities in
recognizing and utilizing their competitive advanta-
ges, promote their business potentials and connect
with potential investors and business partners from
the country and abroad.
In the past year and a half, some teams achieved
exceptional results. Particularly notable were the
efforts of the Embassy of Slovenia, which enabled a
new investment by company Motvoz, creating 100
new jobs in Leskovac.
Subotica team was one of the most active in 2012.
In May, Subotica LED Office in cooperation with
NALED prepared the material for special edition of
e-newsletter Easy Biz, regularly distributed by the Em-
bassy of Israel to its network of contacts from Serbia
and Israel. The newsletter promoted investment, to-
urism and cultural potentials of the City of Suboti-
ca. In June, the Ambassadorial team headed by Mr.
Eyal Naor, Deputy Chief of Mission of Israel, suppor-
ted the VI International business fair in Subotica, and
on this occasion, company Tigar promoted its pro-
duct portfolio. In October, 9 Israeli companies paid
an organized visit to Subotica. The Israeli delegation
involved: Precision Casting Foundry, Grand Motors,
Strauss Adriatic, Aviv Arlon Holding, Avital, Plaza
Centers, BIG Shopping Center Novi Sad, AirportCi-
ty Belgrade and Tahal-Fideco. The companies visited
the Free Zone, locations intended for construction of
shopping malls, Synagogue and Palić Lake.
The first 5 Ambassadorial teams
1. Municipality of Bujanovac / Embassy of Portugal / Hypo bank
2. Municipality of Pirot / Embassy of Spain / VIP Mobile
3. City of Leskovac / Embassy of Slovenia / Ball Packaging
4. City of Subotica / Embassy of Israel / Tigar
5. City of Vranje / Embassy of Slovakia / Asseco SEE

34
The remaining teams were sporadically active. Bu-
janovac team prepared sector profiles for investors
in the areas of water management and food indu-
stry, which were afterwards distributed through the
Embassy of Portugal. After the investment mission
from Portugal (October 2011), one of 7 compani-
es that visited Bujanovac (Consulgal) announced
opening of a representative office in Serbia. Team
for Vranje – the Embassy of Slovakia and Asseco
SEE, organized several meetings with Slovak and lo-
cal businesses and worked on developing the city's
web portal. Team for Pirot has not reached full
functionality due to the changes in key positions in
both Embassy of Spain and company Vip Mobile.
Cross-border cooperation for
investment promotion
In 2012 NALED obtained the first EU project of
cross-border cooperation for investment promoti-
on in border areas of Serbia and Croatia. The pro-
ject will last for two years, starting from July 2012.
The partners from Croatia are the Municipality of
Gradište, Department for international cooperati-
on (TINTL), Municipality of Lovas and the City of
Ilok. Along with NALED, the Serbian representati-
ves are municipalities Odžaci and Kula. The ove-
rall project goal is to strengthen the competitivene-
ss and ensure sustainable economic development
of the border area.
The project promotion was held in September in
Municipality of Odžaci, with the presence of all re-
gional partners and the local media. The project
Managing Board was appointed on this occasion,
and the event also involved presentation of goals
and activities that will be performed in the following
two years: developing the image of the region as in-
vestment-friendly area, building the local capacities
for investment promotion, developing specific tools
for investment promotion (creation of sector studi-
es for the region, participation in foreign trade fa-
irs, virtual investment one-stop shops), improving
the local business environment. By the end of the
year, NALED developed the project’s visual identi-
ty and prepared two tenders: for the organization
of workshops regarding investment promotion and
for the preparation of sector studies on investment
potentials in the region.
Telemedicine
Starting from March 2012, NALED has been
implementing a one-year project for improving the
health system in Serbia through introduction of te-
lemedicine as a form of public-private partnership,
with the support of Merck Sharp Dohme Fo-
undation. The pilot project involves Municipality
and Primary care center of Boljevac, Health center
Zaječar and Clinical center Niš.
Telemedicine involves distance provision of health
services and represents an alternative to the usu-
al „face-to-face” interaction of patients and he-
alth workers. With the assistance of specific mo-
dern information technologies, telemedicine allows
doctors in local primary care centers to connect
with the specialists in large health centers, all for
the purpose of faster and more efficient treatment.
Health workers from smaller institutions in remote
areas, with the help of audio and video connecti-
ons, can consult their colleagues from institutions
on higher levels of health protection, with modern
medical equipment and specialized staff, in order
Study tour to USA:
Telemedicine

35
to jointly analyze the documentation (blood anal-
yses, X-rays etc.) and examine the patient. Speci-
alists from clinical centers can talk to the patient
directly and decide upon the future treatment to-
gether with their doctor. This way, Telemedicine
increases the availability of quality health care and
modern diagnostics for patients in rural areas, re-
duced the expenses and enables faster decisions
on patients’ treatment and transport, especially in
situations where the patient’s life is in danger.
Bearing in mind that Telemedicine is a concept
most developed in the USA, NALED organized a
study tour to America in May, in order to get fa-
miliar with its functioning in practice. Cooperation
was established with the University in Missouri and
the local telemedicine center - Missouri Teleheal-
th Network. The study tour participants visited the
nearby health centers using telemedicine, as well as
many different specialists who shared their experi-
ences in the implementation of this concept.
The official promotion of pilot project for intro-
ducing telemedicine in Serbia was organized in Ju-
ly. The event involved a presentation of all benefits
brought by telemedicine and the project partici-
pants – NALED and health institutions in Boljevac,
Zaječar and Niš signed a Memorandum of Under-
standing. After that, project coordinators were de-
signated for all three health centers, they attended
training for telemedicine and the required IT equi-
pment was purchased.
The installation of equipment in health centers, as
well as technical training for coordinators, is pla-
nned for early 2013. What follows is the most im-
portant part of the project – the use and applica-
tion of telemedicine. Thanks to telemedicine, the
doctors from Boljevac primary care center will be
able to establish audio and video connection wi-
th their colleagues from Health center Zaječar and
Clinical center Niš, which will resolve the problem
of insufficient number of specialists in Boljevac and
care for patients who need more serious diagno-
stics. In addition to the clearly visible benefits for
the patients, through exchange of experiences, this
project will also strengthen the connections among
doctors at all levels of health protection.
Summer practice for students
from diaspora
In July 2012, with the support of Telenor foundati-
on, embassy of Switzerland, Nikola Tesla Airport and
Royal family Karađorđević, NALED organized the se-
cond three-week summer practice for students from
diaspora, with the title Meet the state of Serbia.
facebook.com/serbiaCalling
Diaspora in NALED
NALED supports the return of young, educated people to
Serbia and confirms this stand in practice. Since 2010,
NALED engaged 4 Serbian students and post-graduates
from prestigious universities in Germany, Austraia and
Great Britain, for a period of two months to three years.
With the support of International Organization for
Migration (IOM), one of the participants in the project
Meet the state of Serbia 2011 had the opportunity
to assist NALED in the organization of this year's
practice for students from diaspora and participate
in the development of first online database of foreign
investments in Serbia.
Reception at the Royal Palace
for students from diaspora

36
This year, 18 of our young academics studying in
USA, Canada, Great Britain, Austria, Italy, Sweden,
Switzerland and Macedonia attended practice in 12
local governments all across Serbia: Belgrade, Vra-
nje, Jagodina, Kragujevac, Užice, Bajina Bašta, Bečej,
Kikinda, Novi Bečej, Paraćin, Pirot and Ruma. In ad-
dition to being able to learn about the functioning of
local government and key business potentials in ci-
ties and municipalities during the first two weeks of
practice, this year, the students spent one additional
week in companies, in order to perceive local econo-
mic development from the businesses' point of view.
The companies that offered opportunity for prac-
tice involved: Nikola Tesla Airport, Ball Packaging,
Sunce Marinkovic, Zebra Sweets, Plavi kamen, Free
Zone Pirot, Free Zone Užice, Sojaprotein, Stefi ko-
merc, Jagodinska Brewery, Rolomatik, Metanol sir-
ćetni kompleks, Serbia manifatture, Holcim. Du-
ring their practice in companies, the students had
the assignment to fill in the Business Attitude Survey
together with their municipality and company, in or-
der to gain better insight into the relation between
the local government and businesses.
During the project, NALED organized an introduc-
tory workshop and seminar at the Airport, provi-
ding the students with an opportunity to work on
their final report and to visit the Air Traffic Control
center. Experiences and constructive suggestions
for improving he local economic development and
cooperation with diaspora, as well as the results of
BAS survey, were summarized in a final report that
was submitted to responsible ministries and cities
and municipalities participating in the project.
Certificates of successfully completed practice we-
re awarded to students at the closing ceremony at
Royal Hall, with the presence of Royal family, Am-
bassador of Switzerland, prominent representatives
of businesses who supported the project and local
government representatives.
Meet the state
of Serbia:
Introductory
workshop

37
Aiming to encourage dialogue among Serbian stu-
dents in the world and establish closer ties between
diaspora and the homeland, NALED created a Fa-
cebook page to serve as a platform for this purpose,
titled Serbia Calling – www.facebook.com/Serbia-
Calling. This page represents a unique opportunity
for our young intellectual diaspora to gather aro-
und at one spot and learn more about the relevant
cultural, economic and political developments and
events in cities and municipalities across Serbia,
opportunities for employment and further professi-
onal development in the country and abroad.
Access to BRA registers
With the support of GIZ/KWD project, NALED
established cooperation with the Business Re-
gisters Agency (BRA) in order to strengthen the
municipal capacities to use available data from
this agency’s registers. In April, NALED and BRA
organized two-day workshops for employees in
municipal economic departments, LED Offices
and local tax administration. Local government
representatives had the opportunity to learn how
to access the relevant data from the registers and
how to use them in encouraging local economic
development. Many of these data can be seen
directly at BRA’s website, within online Register
of measures and incentives for regional develo-
pment. This register provides the basic econo-
mic indicators such as the number of employed/
unemployed citizens, educational structure, busi-
ness structure, companies' financial performan-
ce, financial incentives for regional development,
all for the previous four years (2009 - 2012) at all
levels of territorial organization.
Experience from the workshops and cooperati-
on with NALED have resulted in creation of new
free service for obtaining detailed business-related
data, in accordance with the needs of Serbian ci-
ties and municipalities. NALED created detailed
instructions for all local governments on the pro-
cedure for delivery of data, containing examples of
completed forms and a Decree on Classification of
Business Activities. Thanks to this service, starting
from this year local governments can receive origi-
nal data regarding local businesses, such as the list
of all companies doing business locally, informati-
on about their operations, number of employees,
revenues etc., completely free of charge.
NALED and
BRA: Training for
municipalities

PrOMO TI O n O F D IALOgU e B eT Ween
PrIvA Te A nD P UB LIC seCTOr
January
ROuNd taBLe: visiON Of
aGRicuLtuRe iN čačak
On 18th January 2012 at City hall in Čačak, nA-
LeD and sCTM with the support of Deutsche ge-
sellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (gIZ),
organized the vII round table within the project vi-
sion 2016, with the title „What needs to be done
for serbian agriculture during the term of the new
government“. round table participants – owners of
agricultural and food companies, local government
officials, farmers, representatives of high educati-
on and scientific-research institutions and officials
from political parties' local committees from Čačak
and the region – shared their views on the agricul-
tural policy and strategy the new government sho-
uld implement.
pROmOtiON Of ZReNjaNiN GRey BOOk
On January 19, the first edition of Zrenjanin grey
Book was presented, prepared by Zrenjanin Busi-
ness Circle ZrePOk with nALeD support. Mode-
led on the national campaign for cutting the red ta-
pe and nALeD grey Book, ZrePOk collected and
analyzed local administrative problems and obstac-
les, in jurisdiction of Zrenjanin City administration
and proposed specific manners to overcome them.
In 2012
NALED
organized and
supported more
than 70 events

39
The promotion was attended by the highest officials
of the City of Zrenjanin and Mid-Banat county, repre-
sentatives of public companies, MPs in City, Provinci-
al and Republic Parliament, representatives of NALED
and other business associations and the media.
Zrenjanin Grey Book offers solutions for the pro-
blems of local fees and charges – for obtaining
approvals for installation of temporary facilities, for
environment protection, for certain constraints hin-
dering the work of trade and hospitality facilities,
and poor quality of gas delivered to consumers in
Zrenjanin and the region.
Round table: Vision of
economy in Valjevo
On January 27, the VIII round table within the pro-
ject Vision 2016 – new economic agenda for the fu-
ture Government was held at the City Hall of Valje-
vo. Round table participants were business people
and representatives of business associations from
Valjevo and surrounding municipalities, officials
from the local government and local committees of
political parties. Each from their own point of vi-
ew, the participants gave recommendations for im-
proving the business environment and encouraging
economic development. On behalf of the host ci-
ty, the audience was welcomed by the Mayor Zo-
ran Jakovljević. In the introduction part, the parti-
cipants were addresses by Đorđe Staničić on behalf
of SCTM, Nenad Milenković on behalf of NALED
MB and Alexander Grunauer on behalf of GIZ. Dra-
gan Spirić, Deputy Mayor of Vranje gave the ope-
ning remarks as a framework for discussion about
the state’s new economic policy.
Preparations for CSR certification
After selecting five companies – leaders of corpora-
te responsibility in Serbia to participate in the pilot
project of Corporate Social Responsibility Certifica-
tion (CSR), NALED in cooperation with SMart Ko-
lektiv organized a preparatory meeting for all pro-
ject participants: Tigar, Holcim, Eurobank, Sunce
Marinković and Coca-Cola, on January 31 at the re-
staurant El Hispano in Belgrade. On this occasion,
the companies were presented the details regarding
the certification process and corporate responsi-
bility indicators covering all 5 key areas of respon-
sible operations: corporate governance, market,
employees, environment and local community.
February
Congress: South East Europe –
business-friendly region
The first international congress on business en-
vironment in the region was held on February 23,
2012 at Hyatt hotel, marking the official beginning
of cooperation among institutions from Serbia, Cro-
atia, Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina on the
project Business-Friendly Certification South East
Europe (BFC SEE). The congress was organized by
NALED with the support of GIZ Open Regional Fund
for Modernization of Municipal Services (ORF).
The opening remarks were given by the President of
NALED Managing Board Vladimir Čupić, Serbian
Prime Minister, Mirko Cvetković and German Am-
bassador, Wolfram Maas. Čupić pointed out that,
in the conditions of world economic crisis and in-
tensifying battle for markets, raw materials and
CSR certification:
preparation meeting

40
more efficient production, South East Europe co-
untries may find their opportunity in strengthening
of regional cooperation and economic exchange.
„Stable, predictable and supportive business en-
vironment is what foreign investors look for when
considering potential locations to invest to, and
this is what we need to offer them if we want econo-
mic growth“, said Čupić, NALED has been working
on improving the business environment and promo-
ting investment into Serbia since 2007, within the
municipal certification program.
The opening remarks were followed by an inter-Mi-
nister panel on the significance of regional coope-
ration on improving the business environment and
investment promotion. The panel moderator was
Christen Farmer, President of MACH IV Consulting
and a journalist with international experience, and
the participants involved: Serbian Minister of Envi-
ronment, Mining and Spatial Planning, Oliver Dulić,
Minister of Finance of the Republic of Srpska, Zoran
Tegeltija, State Secretary in Macedonian Ministry of
Economy, Anče Trifunov, Vice-President of Croati-
an Assembly and Mayor of Ivanec in Croatia, Milo-
rad Batinić, Minister of Federal Ministry of Develo-
pment, Entrepreneurship and Crafts in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Sanjin Halimović. Some of the panel
conclusions referred to the necessity of improving in-
frastructure and establishing better traffic connecti-
ons in the region, eliminating the inherited excessive
administration common for all countries in the regi-
on, providing greater jurisdiction to municipalities,
overcoming technical barriers in foreign trade and
establishing stronger connections between instituti-
ons and municipalities in the region.
After the first panel, the partners signed a Memo-
randum of Understanding regarding cooperati-
on on regional certification. The signatories were
Vladimir Čupić, President of NALED MB, Zoran
Tegeltija, Minister of Finance of Republic of Srpska,
Sanjin Halimović, Minister in the Federal Ministry of
Development, Entrepreneurship and Crafts of Bo-
snia and Herzegovina, Zlatko Kalenikov, President
of Macedonian Chambers of Commerce and Davor
Vašiček, Assistant Dean for Economy and Business
at the Faculty of Economy in Rijeka.
The second panel gathered around Mayors and in-
vestors from the region, including: Mayor of Stara
Pazova, Goran Jović, Mayor of Štip Zoran Aleksov,
General Manager of Messer Tehnogas, Ernst Bode,
Mayor of Banja Luka, Dragoljub Davidović, Mayor
of Sanski Most, Mustafa Avdagić, Director of FTMG
development GmbH, Dietmar Reindl. The Gene-
ral Manager of Messer Tehnogas and member of
NALED MB, Ernst Bode, stated the importance of
local government being a reliable and predictable
partner to the investors, which can be introduced
through the certification program.
Round table: Regional certification
On February 24 in Belgrade, NALED held a round
table for institutions and municipalities from the re-
gion, presenting the criteria and process of Busine-
ss-Friendly Certification SEE. The speakers at round
table were Franc But, Ambassador of Slovenia, Chri-
stophe di Marco, Finance sector Manager at GIZ/
ORF project, Jelena Petković, Executive Director of
Wolfram Maas, German
Ambassador at the
opening of regional
congress on business-
friendly environment

41
Tigar company and member of NALED MB, Vladan
Atanasijević, Director of Asseco SEE and member
of NALED MB, regional partners Zoran Stjepanović,
Assistant Minister for Economic Relations and Re-
gional Cooperation of the Republic of Srpska,
Jozo Bejić, Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Deve-
lopment, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, Saša Drez-
gić, on behalf of Faculty of Economy in Rijeka, Jasna
Petkovska, representative of Macedonian Chambers
of Commerce, Sara Šabani, on behalf of municipal
association ZELS from Macedonia, representatives
of certified municipalities in Serbia, as well as local
governments from the region that are entering the
certification process.
Workshop: the role of media in
promoting the values of civil
dialogue
As the leading partner in the consortium of NGOs
within the competitiveness sector (so-called SEKO
mechanism at the Serbian European integration Of-
fice), NALED participated in the workshop on the
role of media in promoting the values of civil dialo-
gue, organized by Office for Cooperation with Civil
Society of the Government of RS and Balkan Inve-
stigative Reporting Network (BIRN) on February 29
at the Palace of Serbia. The workshop discussed the
manner of improving cooperation between the me-
dia and civil society organizations, for the purpo-
se of launching new joint initiatives and implemen-
ting new projects, having in mind the important role
of both media and the civil society in defining and
considering the issues of public importance.
March
Pančevo Grey Book
At the Small hallway of Pančevo City Hall, on 1st
March 2012, the Agency for Economic Development
of Pančevo organized a round table to the topic of
regulatory impact to local businesses. This also ser-
ved as the occasion for the promotion of Pančevo
Grey Book, titled „50 questions and answers about
doing-business conditions in Pančevo“. The publi-
cation came as a result of one-year campaign to
collect and analyze local administrative business
obstacles, realized in partnership with NALED. Le-
aning onto NALED methodology in the preparati-
on of Pančevo Grey Book, the Agency for Economic
Development of Pančevo collected a large number
of recommendations and after their analysis, it se-
lected and published 50 problems faced by busine-
sses in their daily operations, and offered solutions
to overcome them in order to improve the business
environment in the city.
Along with representatives of NALED, high City ad-
ministration officials and local businesses, the ro-
und table participants involved Mira Prokopijević,
Director of Government's Office for Regulatory Re-
form and Regulatory Impact Analysis and Dragan
Vidaković, President of ZREPOK.
Round table: Vision of agriculture in
Subotica
NALED and SCTM with the support of GIZ, orga-
nized the IX round table within the project Vision
2016 – new economic agenda for the future Gover-
nment, on March 1 at Subotica City Hall. The dis-
cussion topic was agriculture, and the participants
involved representatives of local agricultural and
promotionofdialoguebetweenprivateandpublicsector
Vision 2016:
Round table
in Subotica

42
food companies, representatives of business asso-
ciations, local authorities and officials from local
committees of political parties.
On behalf of the host city, the guests were welco-
med by the Mayor of Subotica, Saša Vučinić. In the
introductory part, the participants were addressed
by Vladan Atanasijević on behalf of NALED MB,
Slađana Grujić on behalf of SCTM and Alexander
Grunauer on behalf of GIZ. Aleksandar Stevanović,
NALED associate, gave the opening remarks as a
framework for discussion. The participants agreed
that the right to free trade in the country and abro-
ad should be guaranteed to farmers and other busi-
nesses that there was a need for more predictable in-
centives in agriculture, development of commodity
exchange market, reducing the excessive bureaucra-
cy in exercising the right to subsidies, resolving the
problem of soil irrigation, that the subsidies should
be awarded by hectare and land fertility etc.
Training for municipalities in East
Serbia: Certification criteria
In hotel Aquastar Danube in Kladovo, on March
1st and 2nd a training was held within the Busine-
ss-Friendly Certification (BFC) program, discussing
the certification process and criteria and gathering
around representatives of Eastern Serbia municipa-
lities: Boljevac, Kladovo, Negotin, Sokobanja and
Knjaževac. The training represents an integral part
of project for building the capacities of Eastern Ser-
bia municipalities regarding investment promoti-
on and local economic development. The project is
funded by the Open Society Foundation and imple-
mented by NALED and RARIS.
Symposium on environment
and energy
The first international symposium on the relation
between electricity production and environment
protection in Serbia was held on March 2 in Hyatt
hotel, with the title Environment and Energy – What
lies ahead for Serbia, organized by Serbian Wind
Energy Association (SEWEA), European Wind
Energy Association (EWEA) and National Allian-
ce for Local Economic Development (NALED). At
the opening of the event, Toplica Spasojević, Vice-
President of NALED MB pointed out wind energy
as one of the largest unused potentials of Serbia,
much greater than mini hydropower plants or so-
lar energy. He also emphasized that the realization
of investments in renewable energy sector required
establishing of appropriate regulatory framework,
in accordance with the EU standards.
Symposium on
environment and energy:
Toplica Spasojević and
Mark Crandall,
NALED MB

NALED results - Annual report 2012

NALED results - Annual report 2012

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