ReSPA held its 8th Governing Board Meeting at Ministerial level
Tirana, 6 November 2017 – Ministers in charge of public administration from Western Balkan countries met in their capacity of members of the ReSPA Governing Board at Ministerial level for the 8th ReSPA Governing Board meeting.
At the beginning of the meeting, Ms. Senida Mesi, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, highlighted Albania’s chairing of ReSPA in the previous year and said that “the presence of ministers from Western Balkan countries at the meeting in Tirana shows the readiness of each country to further collaborate with each other regarding strengthening of capacities for the implementation of the public administration reform, and the exchange of experiences with the main objective towards the integration in the European Union.”
Addressing respected members of the ReSPA Governing Board, Director of ReSPA Ms. Ratka Sekulovic pointed out that “the Public Administration Reform (PAR) in the Western Balkan region is a very demanding task that requires significant resources and sincere political commitment”. “The new ReSPA Strategy for the 2019-2024 period will enable us to better integrate and synergise our efforts in order to provide the best possible impact in the implementation of PAR Strategies in the region,” Sekulovic added.
During the meeting ReSPA Secretariat and experts presented on several important topics such as: Better Regulation efforts, Methodology for Costing of PAR Strategies, examples of good practice in e-recruitment for public service in Albania, and quality management in public administration.
Members of the ReSPA Governing Board endorsed ReSPA’s Annual Report, as well as the Recommendations for Improving Public Participation and encouraged ReSPA to follow up, in cooperation with the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), on their implementation by relevant institutions.
ReSPA Governing Board also took note of the Highlights of ReSPA activities planned for 2018, and adopted the Annual envelope and ReSPA Budget for the next year.
At the end of the meeting, Bosnia and Herzegovina formally accepted Chairing of ReSPA from Albania in a ceremony of handing over the ReSPA Flag.
New Chair of ReSPA, Mr. Josip Grubesa said that for him personally, taking over the Chairmanship of ReSPA “is a big challenge as well as responsibility”.
“For Bosnia and Herzegovina, since we are taking over from the Republic of Albania who in the last year accomplished significant progress in the Public Administration Reform, it will mean firm determination to follow the example and use possibilities of cooperation with ReSPA to make improvements in the public sector”, Grubesa said.
During the day, on the margins of the ReSPA Governing Board meeting, a number of bilateral ministerial meetings were held, through which regional cooperation is additionally strengthened.
