"This is an ideal opportunity that we can use not only to improve the quality infrastructure but also to promote the wide offer and culture of our country. Serbia has a lot to offer and say, it is a great honor and pleasure that we will have the opportunity to organize such an important event," said Vitas.

 As he stated, today our country is a strong and modern, where people are happy to come, and the Serbian economy showed the world in times of crisis due to the corona virus epidemic, how good results can be achieved with responsible politics. 

As a reminder, the holding of the CEN/CENELEC General Assembly in 2023 in Belgrade was announced by showing a promotional video at this year's General Assembly of the European standardization organizations CEN and CENELEC in Prague. 

The video material was prepared with the support of the project "EU for Serbia - support for safer products" within the component that includes the promotion of standardization and the current campaign aimed at raising the awareness of consumers and business entities about technical regulations, standards and best practices aligned with European rules. 

The Institute for Standardization of Serbia is the only national body for standardization in the Republic. The founder of the Institute is the Government of the Republic of Serbia, and the video announcing the General Assembly of European Organizations for Standardization in Belgrade is available on the ISS YouTube channel.

As he stated, a good dialogue not only within institutions, but also between the state and economic operators, is of crucial importance for achieving prosperity. 

"The Serbian economy is making progress, so we must continue to work actively to ensure good results," he underlined. 

The interlocutors discussed future plans, which will contribute to greater development of quality infrastructure.

On this occasion, issues related to the implementation of the Government's Work Plan for 2022 related to metrology were also discussed, as well as future support projects in this area, especially the initiative of the Sector for Quality and Product Safety to participate in the IPA 2021 project, which should start next year, which concerns the free movement of goods.

Awards are given to profit and non-profit organizations for the results achieved in the development and improvement of organizational and business excellence.

The Champion of Excellence award went to the Nelt group from Dobanovci, as well as the Specialist Rehabilitation Hospital Banja Koviljača, while the executive director of Nelt Robert Jenovai and the director of "Banja Koviljača" Aleksandar Jokić are leaders of business excellence.

As it was said, during its three decades of existence, Nelt Group has grown from a small wholesaler with five employees to a system with 4,700 employees in 18 companies in 12 markets.

The special hospital Banja Koviljača, with a tradition of 160 years, provides services in healthcare, diagnostics and treatment, as well as wellness and catering services.

The Milenium team from Belgrade was awarded for excellence in the areas of processes and technology and business results, BUCK Belgrade in the areas of strategy and market and users, and ABD-PROM Jermenovci for leadership and organizational potential.

It was pointed out that the Millennium team has become a regional leader in the construction industry, whose main activity is the design and construction of hydrotechnical facilities, roads, railways, gas pipelines, heat pipes, as well as construction engineering and consulting, as well as humanitarian demining.

BUCK Beograd started its work by designing suspended ceilings, and later started assembling lamps from other manufacturers in order to continue conquering its own architectural, then medical and street lighting.

ABD PROM has been in business for 30 years, it started with the trade of raw materials for agriculture, and since the construction of the cold store, whose current capacity is 5,000 tons, the main activity of the company is the processing and canning of fruits and vegetables.

Acting Assistant Minister Miodrag Duganžija pointed out that the Ministry of Economy supports this event because the recognition is a motivation for constant improvement of business, and thus increasing the competitiveness of the Serbian economy.

On this occasion, he highlighted the results of the work of the Ministry of Economy in this area, that is, some of the current activities and plans that go in that direction.

"At the beginning of this month, we submitted the final drafts of strategic documents for the three-year period to the European Commission, and we hope that we have thereby fulfilled all obligations for the opening of the first negotiation chapter, stated Dugandžija and added: " We wanted to use the knowledge and experience of experts, so at the beginning of the year we formed a "Council for Quality" of businessmen, the scientific and academic community and other interested parties for IQ. One session of the Council was held and we are intensively working on the preparation of materials for the next one, where we hope to adopt recommendations for certain improvements in the conformity assessment system in the Republic of Serbia".

He pointed out that a three-year technical support project was successfully completed at the beginning of November, which helped increase the degree of harmonization of regulations, improved the application of technical regulations by strengthening market surveillance, and contributed to the overall visibility of the quality infrastructure.

"In 2023, we plan to draw up the IQ Strategy for the period 2024-2030, and for these needs, in addition to experts from the economy, the academic community, and the Council for Quality, we expect support from EU pre-accession funds through two projects that we hope will start before the end of the this year," he concluded.

Director of the Sector for Strategic Analysis, Services and Internationalization at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Mihailo Vesović, assessed that it is impossible to continue business practices without consistent application of quality infrastructure at all levels.

"The good thing about 2021, even though it was difficult, is that the number of issued certificates increased by 15 percent. For the first time, we conducted research with the Ministry of Economy and the Institute for Standardization to see the effect on companies that apply standards in business, and it turned out that 200 companies said that they had a better position on the market because of this," Vesović said.

He also pointed out that it has been proven that companies that have standardized their operations are the most resistant to crises.

The Quality and Business Excellence Forum is traditionally held on the occasion of World Quality Day and European Quality Week, which this year is celebrated under the slogan "New Europe, new quality".

The second part of the Forum is the "With the Quality to the World" consultation, which brought together quality and business excellence experts from Serbia and neighboring countries, who present the latest trends and experiences in the field of quality management and business excellence here and in the surrounding area.

The organizer of this manifestation is the Foundation for the Culture of Quality and Excellence in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, with the support of the Ministry of Economy and under the auspices of the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS).

In addition to representatives of the Sector, the meeting was attended by representatives of the market surveillance authorities as well as representatives of the EU Delegation in the Republic of Serbia.

The round tables discussed key challenges in the application of technical regulations in practice - interpretation of regulations, preparation of documentation, performing conformity assessment, product labeling, the importance of applying Serbian standards, the dilemmas that manufacturers have when placing products on the market, as well as the importance of applying standards in  order to improve business.

In addition to representatives of local business entities, the events were attended by representatives of the Ministry of Economy, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and the Institute for Standardization of Serbia.

Dugandžija added that the implemented project activities contributed significantly in terms of harmonization of regulations and improvement of knowledge in the field of quality infrastructure of the Republic of Serbia, all in order to progress in the negotiation process within the first negotiation chapter for EU accession.

"This project supported the approach of Serbia to the internal market of the European Union, in terms of legislation and in terms of product safety and consumer standards. We help Serbian institutions and companies to meet the high health, safety and environmental requirements for placing products on the market, for the benefit of consumers and the safety of children, including improving the safety of children's playgrounds", said Andrea Hochhuber, Head of the Department for European Integration and Economic Affairs in the Delegation of the European Union in Serbia.

 During the duration of the project, several communication campaigns were implemented for: pyrotechnics, personal protective equipment, the importance of standardization and participation in standardization, safe children's playgrounds and sector promotion of the Ministry of Economy.

"The EU project for Serbia - support for safer products confirmed the strong commitment of the Serbian Quality Infrastructure institutions to safety and competitiveness in the country, in the Balkans and in the EU. Quality infrastructure serves the interests of Serbia, citizens and companies better than ever before by applying the best available European practices", said Francisco Werdera, project leader.

When national product regulations are harmonized with European Union legislation, equal treatment, increased competitiveness, lower prices and greater and wider choice for consumers are ensured. This ensures an equal level of protection of public health, consumers and the environment in the internal European market.

The European Union provides continuous support to Serbia in removing technical barriers to trade and the free movement of goods. The process of harmonization with EU regulations and standards was achieved, among other things, through technical support to institutions through several projects whose value is more than ten million euros.

In addition to representatives of the Ministry of Economy, the workshop was also attended by representatives of other state authorities  within NG1, as well as representatives of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.

Realized planned activities during the study visit made a significant contribution to the improvement of the knowledge of the representatives of the quality infrastructure of the Republic of Serbia, with the aim of further improvement and exchange of experiences with colleagues from the European Commission, all with the aim of progressing in the negotiation process within the first negotiation chapter related to the accession of the Republic of Serbia EU.

In addition, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has made available 28 other international standards relating to respirators and other medical devices, protective equipment, safety and resilience of organizations in emergencies, free of charge, read-only. A list of these international standards can be found at: https://www.iso.org/covid19.

Free access to the standards is a direct support to interested companies involved in other activities to temporarily redirect their production facilities to the production of these products in accordance with European and international standards. Detailed information on free access to standards can be found on the ISS website: https://www.iss.rs/rs/news/news_526.html, or by calling the ISS Info Center: 011 3409 310/063 640 194 and selling the standards: 011 3409 335/064 6430 254

In addition to providing free access to these standards, the Institute for Standardization of Serbia, through its services and in other ways, helps enterprises to maintain their business during a state of emergency (by organizing free webinars on business continuity in crisis situations, interpreting certain requirements of Serbian standards without paying a fee, etc.).

During the state of emergency, the Institute for Standardization ensured business continuity, and for all information interested parties can contact the phones listed at the following address: https://www.iss.rs/rs/news/news_519.html

Source: http://www.dmdm.rs/cr/Vesti.php#V20200323

The Czech partners held a presentation on relevant legislation in the EU and the Czech Republic and experiences with the implementation of regulations in this area.

At the held workshop, the exchanging of experience in the field of safety of lifts in use has been stressed. It was considered the initiative of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce preparation of the Law on Lifts in Use, which would include, among other things, additional requirements for lift maintainers.

The Ministry of Economy, in the field of quality and product safety, is implementing Structural Reform 17. "Product Info - Establishment of a Unique Digital Service for Technical Regulation". The aim of the reform is to network the databases of relevant institutions and set up digital services regarding: technical requirements for all industrial product groups and measuring instruments, standards, conformity assessment activities, accreditation and activities in the field of metrology, so that the data is accurate, up-to-date and available to interested parties (business entities, inspection and other authorities, institutes, etc.).

The partners to the Ministry of Economy in the implementation of the reform are: Institute for Standardization of Serbia, Directorate for Measures and Precious Metals and Accreditation Body of Serbia.

After the opening statement, the attendees were addressed by  Assistant Minister Aleksandar Starčević, and he expressed his hope that this project would help us more quickly and efficiently meet the conditions for opening Chapter 1, which is one of the key chapters in the negotiation procedure, as it includes one of the four fundamental freedoms within the EU single market.

Afterwards, Biljana Popović Jovanović, representative of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Serbia, addressed the participants, who highlighted that the EU continue to assist Serbia in the path of European integration and she presented the project, after which the representatives of the Consortium gave a presentation and presented their team.

The project is being implemented in cooperation with the Sector for Market Inspection of the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications and the project will cover the following activities: support for the harmonization of certain areas that are not yet harmonized within the Negotiation chapter 1 - Movement of goods (construction products, explosives for civil use and pyrotechnic articles products, personal protective equipment and motor vehicles), strengthening the capacity of quality infrastructure institutions (ATS, ISS and DMDM) and conformity assessment bodies, strengthening the capacity and support to market surveillance authorities and campaigns for raising awareness of consumers and the business entities of the importance of technical legislation.

Under IPA 2017, "Competitiveness and Innovation", the funds are allocated for promotion the quality infrastructure system. The value of the project is EUR 1,500,000 and is financed entirely by IPA funds.

The National award for business excellence "Oscars quality " is awarded to for-profit and non-profit organizations for top results achieved in the development and improvement of organizational and business excellence.

The award was presented in three categories: real sector, public sector and organizations outside the territory of the Republic of Serbia.

More information can be found at http://www.fqce.org.rs/ 

The awards are presented by the Foundation forQuality  Culture and Excellence (FQCE), in cooperation with the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Serbia, with the support of the Association for Quality and Standardization of Serbia (AKS) and the Quality Initiative for Central and Southeast European Countries (MSEECQI).

The workshop was organized by the PTB-Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (German National Metrology Institute), GIZ - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (German Corporation for International Cooperation) and the Serbian Ministry of Economy.