The European Partnership with Municipalities – EU PROGRES is the largest area based developmental Programme in Serbia, covering 25 municipalities of the South and South West of the country, and is a result of a continuous pledge of support of two major donors - the European Union and the Government of Switzerland to the Government of Serbia. EU PROGRES is implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) which is an assurance of an apolitical and developmental attitude in all its activities.
We have structured our activities around four components: (1) good governance, which is a cross-cutting theme underpinning the whole Programme, (2) municipal management and development planning, (3) social, economic and environment infrastructure, as well as (4) public awareness and branding of the South and South West Serbia. With this, holistic, approach we endeavour to accelerate growth and improve the overall living conditions in the focus areas.
The implementation of infrastructure projects, for example, will immediately improve everyday life of all citizens in a municipality.
On the other hand, the systematic approach to planning of development and advances in municipal management will yield long term results as the civil servants will be equipped with knowledge and techniques how to prepare project documentation and acquire additional funding for their municipalities. This will also mean increased effectiveness and efficiency of a local self government, two important principles of good governance. Furthermore, when speaking about good governance, the increase in citizens’ participation in public sector decision making, and absence of discrimination, will create preconditions for sustainable development.
Our key partners are municipal institutions and organisations, who will be, in most cases, implementing EU PROGRES activities. However, the whole Programme is directed towards creating better living conditions and generating a favourable investment climate which will boost prosperity for every citizen in the South and South West Serbia.
