naled key results in 2013

Our Mission Improving the business environment in Serbia with active engagement and cooperation

of businesses, municipalities and citizens

NALED KEY RESULTS 2013

Capacities

• 190 members (11% increase) and territorial coverage of 70% make NALED the largest and most influential private-public association

• Managing Board: Asseco SEE, Coca-Cola, Kruševac, Pexim Foundation, Messer Tehnogas, Bambi, Knjaz Miloš, Sombor, Pirot

• Executive Office: 21 employees, four teams – policy, municipal support, marketing, finance and administration

NALED Key Results 2013

Trust and revenues

• To support NALED sustainability, a consulting agency Expose was founded, to provide services in the field of economic development and good governance - $45,000 revenues in its first year

• Member support is confirmed with membership fee collection rate of 90%. Member companies supported NALED activities and projects with > $100,000

• 15 projects for improving regulatory environment and municipal capacity building initiated and realized, worth ca. 1 milion €

• German Government and GIZ entrusted NALED with running the first regional project for improving the business environment in South East Europe

• USAID internal audit confirmed NALED’s work compliance with the highest global standards


Key projects in 2013

Godišnja skupština NALED-a, Beograd 11/04/2014

Project title Donor

Cross-border cooperation for investment promotion EU

Business Heartbeat – monitoring the regulatory reform effects USAID BEP

Establishing the Policy Unit Open Society Foundation

Preparing the Serbian Danube for a starring role in the movies EU

Business Friendly Certification Eastern Serbia Open Society Foundation

Business Friendly Certification South East Europe (BFC SEE) GIZ ORF

Strengthening good governance on the local level Embassy of Finland

Revitalization of brownfields and countering shadow economy USAID

JPP as the pillar of sustainable development USAID SLDP

Para-fiscal charges USAID BEP

Privatization effects on the local governments USAID SLDP

Regulatory Index of Serbia (RIS) and business opinion survey USAID BEP

Meet the State of Serbia – practice for students from diaspora Swiss embassy / Telenor

Campaign Ask WHEN USAID BEP

International expansion of activities


• Regional network of institutions formed, as a platform for implementing cross-border and international projects for evaluation, improvement and harmonization of the quality of business environment in South East Europe

• The first eight regional Business Friendly Certificates awarded in South East Europe: Pirot, Ruma (Serbia), Bjelovar, Ivanec (Croatia), Prijedor, Sanski Most (BIH), Strumica and Veles (Macedonia)

• Expansion of organization’s activities and influence to the South East Europe region: from 2011 NALED’s business friendly standard implemented in Croatia, BIH and Macedonia

Municipal certification

• Since 2008, one third of all municipalities went through NALED’s certification program – 32 managed to obtain the national certificate

• In 2013 and early 2014, 10 new local governments were certified by the national and regional standard: Vršac, Odžaci, Sombor, Negotin, Knjaževac, Boljevac, Kovačica, Nova Varoš, Kula and Leskovac

• Kragujevac and Loznica were the first cities in Serbia to fulfill more than 80 parameters of business friendly environment, and the first cities that were successfully re-certified in 2013


Municipal promotion


• Financial Times included the holders of NALED’s certificate among the most attractive investment destination in Europe 2014/2015: Zaječar, Vranje, Zrenjanin, Ruma, Sremska Mitrovica and Inđija

• State incentives ensured from AP Vojvodina

for municipalities engaged in NALED’s certification program

• New round of promotional campaign at Belgrade airport: Certified municipalities presented in front of 3.5 million passengers

Municipal promotion


• In cooperation with RTS, we established annual award “Champions of local development”, to promote best practices and solutions in the work of LGs

• The first champions: Beočin (industrial zone), Novi Sad (business incubator), Niš (construction permit center), Vršac (investment promotion) and Zvezdara (volunteering center)

Cooperation of municipalities and businesses

• In cooperation with USAID, action plans for best eight PPP projects developed – these could attract investments of € 22 mil

• IV annual public-private partnership summit organized and handbook How to deliver a good PPP project presented

• Celebration of 45 years of Coca-Cola in Serbia: NALED and Coca-Cola awarded 45 open-air gyms to local governments all across Serbia


Monitoring Government performance

With the support of its members, NALED developed a whole range of original analytical tools and mechanisms for monitoring the regulatory activity and the Government’s performance :

• Calculator of local fees and charges

• By-Law Barometer

• Grey Book of procedures

• Quarterly report on reform status

• Regulatory Index of Serbia (RIS)

• Register of para-fiscal charges

These tools will be the key in reporting towards the EU and the preparation of input for the European Commission’s Serbia annual progress report


Monitoring Government performance

out of 384 identified non-tax and para-fiscal charges

72% refer to the national level

65% of laws are adopted by urgent procedure

100 bureaucratic procedures wait to be resolved

140 by-laws are more than 800 days late with adoption

30 laws significant for businesses were changed 97 times in the last 5 years


Impact on legislation


Aiming to define and advocate for necessary changes in regulatory framework, in 2013 NALED organized more than 20 working meetings and round tables with members, representatives of international community and domestic institutions

• Bi-monthly meetings of NALED’s Regulatory Reform Council

• Regular meetings with institution leaders: Minister Zorana Mihajlović, Minister Igor Mirović, Minister Saša Radulović, Tax Administration Director Ivan Simič

• Semi-annual policy briefings on the regulatory reform status for embassies and representatives of international community

• Public discussions and participation in drafting laws on privatization, bankruptcy, spatial planning and construction, fees, labor

Impact on legislation

• Overview of results from Grey Book in 2013: 7/76

Integrated payment of taxes and contributions to one account

Annual financial statements are submitted to one address only (BRA)

Ministry of Energy adopted all by-laws related to Energy Law

Procedure to register employees for mandatory social insurance was simplified

Procedure for issuing ID cards was accelerated

Deadlines for submitting VAT tax returns was extended

Obligation to register turnover through fiscal cash register in festivals abolished

• Ministry of Finance appointed NALED as member of Working Group for drafting the Law on Fees

• The Government included 80% of Grey Book recommendations in its Action plan for improving the business environment 2014/15


Image and visibility


• The largest public advocacy campaign for better business environment Ask WHEN: contribution to cutting 2/3 of pregnancy leave paperwork and para-fiscals for entrepreneurs

• New video “If I Were Grey”, shot with the support of members– JTI, Philip Morris, Gomex, Centro Štampa - premiered at RTS in December

• More than 2,000 releases in the national and local media - market estimate of total value is more than € 2 million

• Memorandum of Understanding with RTS on promoting the reforms and best practices in the work of public administration

Communications

• Exclusive business journal “Synergy” initiated – read by 3,000 decision-makers in the country and abroad


Communications


• New website www.naled.rs launched, as well as the first regional website on business friendly environment in South East Europe www.bfc-org

• 223,000 page views of NALED website, nearly 3,000 followers on social networks

• The most visited pages – NALED’s online services for members: Database of trainings, Database of funds, Legislative Tracking System

http://www.naled.rs/

http://www.bfc-org/

http://www.bfc-org/

http://www.bfc-org/

Events


More than 50 independently organized events in 2013

New initiatives


• Joint initiative of NALED and USAID – two-year program for countering shadow economy and brownfield revitalization

• Local campaign: Niš says NO to shadow economy

• Fair Competition Alliance – responsible companies making greatest contribution to employment and budget revenues join forces against shadow economy Coca Cola, Japan Tobacco International, Philip Morris International, IDEA, British American Tobacco, Gomex, Nelt, Bambi, Ernst and Young, Centro Štampa and Telenor

• NALED Caucus and preparation of Serbia Progress Report for the EU

National Alliance for Local Economic Development

Makedonska 30 / VII, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia +381 11 3373 063, [email protected]

www.naled-serbia.org

mailto:[email protected]



naled key results in 2013

Business

naled activities

serbia naled key results

naled sustainability

citizens naled key results

ruma serbia

key projects

regulatory environment

municipal certification