Between Discretion and Professionalism: Merit-based Recruitment Policy in the Context of Serbia’s Accession Negotiations with the EU
Between Discretion and Professionalism: Merit-based Recruitment Policy in the Context of Serbia’s Accession Negotiations with the EU

Author(s): Sena Marić, Milena Lazarević
Subject(s): Politics, Governance, International relations/trade, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment, Geopolitics
Published by: Centar za evropske politike CEP
Keywords: EU; Serbia; accession; negotiations; policy;
Summary/Abstract: Although not even one year has passed since EU accession negotiations with Serbia formally began, human resource problems in Serbia’s state administration are becoming an increasingly important factor threatening to compromise the quality and dynamic of the process. Significant staff turnover, an inadequate number of experts for specialized areas, the outflow of young civil servants and the lack of an essential understanding of European integration related affairs by managers at the political level, are just a few of the problems. Another reason for greater dedication to this issue is the understanding, upon which the EU insists, that public administration reform is closely interlinked to the other pillars of the enlargement policy – rule of law and economic governance. The goal of this study is to identify the key shortcomings of the Serbian civil servant system from the angle of EU accession process needs, with a particular focus on the recruitment system. The study also aims to instigate interest and further efforts towards the implementation of civil service system reforms in the context of Serbia’s EU accession. As the most visible aspect of the civil service system, the recruitment system has the greatest impact on perceptions about corruption, which attests to the importance of treating this element of human resources management particularly seriously and thoroughly in the framework of ongoing public administration reforms. Noting the limits of the implementation of a legal framework in the area of recruitment policy, the study develops three possible options for improving the quality of human resources in state administration.

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