Zagreb, 26 March 2024

The meeting with Mr. Rudolf VUJEVIĆ, Director of the Croatian National School of Public Administration (NSPA), and Dubravka SMOLIĆ VLAIĆ, head of Service for Knowledge Transfer at MFEA, solidified mutual understanding and support in delivering learning and capacity-building programs for public administrators.

Both institutions pledged closer collaboration with ReSPA to develop joint activities, aligning with significant regional developments and bridging the Western Balkans administrative space with the European one.

Recognising ReSPA's pivotal role in bolstering human capital within the reform process and the broader EU integration efforts across the Western Balkans, as underscored in the EU-Western Balkans Summit Declaration (Brussels, December 2023), the European Commission has bestowed upon us both credibility and a heightened obligation to elevate further our efforts in capacity building and learning initiatives for civil servants. In light of this, forging alliances with established EU partners, such as NSPA, which has been acquainted with ReSPA since its inception, holds immeasurable value. The wealth of experience within Croatia's public administration, particularly its invaluable insights gleaned from the accession process, is paramount to us and our member states.

This significance is evidenced by our on-demand support and the palpable eagerness among public administration institutions in the Western Balkans to engage in peer-to-peer learning with their Croatian counterparts. Within NSPA, we and our stakeholders perceive formidable allies in propelling the region towards the EU Administrative space. Mutual understanding, shared past experiences, and the parallel challenges confronted during the accession process, alongside a steadfast commitment to the European future of the region, collectively form the bedrock of our robust collaboration. As of today, we stand poised to embark on an even more robust and fruitful collaboration, having paved the way for enhanced cooperation that we eagerly anticipate, to the benefit of our civil servants, » underlined Director HANDJISKA-TRENDAFILOVA.

During the meeting with Dubravka SMOLIĆ VLAIĆ, Director HANDJISKA-TRENDAFILOVA expressed sincere gratitude to SMOLIĆ-VLAIĆ, as well as to the Croatian Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for their unwavering support in advancing the EU integration process of the Western Balkans. Emphasizing the critical importance of direct collaboration between public administrators from the Western Balkans and their Croatian counterparts, who possess firsthand experience in both the accession process and navigating the European Administrative Space, Handjiska-Trendafilova underscored the priceless value of Croatia's expertise in these domains.