NALED: Public Discussions Improve, but Regulation Implementation Remains a Challenge in Serbia

Serbia has made progress in involving the public and businesses in the creation of new regulations, yet significant challenges persist in legislative planning and efficient law enforcement. The National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED) highlighted these findings through its new Regulatory Index of Serbia (RIS), a tool used to assess six crucial phases of the regulatory process.

The RIS report for 2025, supported by the Swedish government, awarded institutions 50 out of a possible 100 points. The fastest response to information requests, with institutions responding in 84% of cases, was noted as a strong point. Public participation in drafting regulations has also improved, with public discussions held for 16 new laws and 16 amendments. However, the RIS report recommends increased transparency, as working group compositions and contact details were often not published, and public hearings in the National Assembly are not organized.

Jelena Bojović, NALED's Program Director, emphasized that business predictability remains a key challenge. "Therefore, this year's RIS recommendation is for the government's plans to be adopted regularly and on time, and for systematic monitoring of deadlines for adopting secondary legislation to be established," she stated. "In practice, we often have new laws, while the bylaws are still old, which creates uncertainty and confusion for businesses on how to apply the regulations."

NALED also publishes a "Grey Book" with 100 concrete recommendations to improve regulations and foster better business conditions. The timeliness of law implementation continues to be the weakest area, with only eight out of 210 required secondary acts adopted in 2025, a mere 4%. On average, it took 727 days to adopt these acts. Institutions attempt to compensate by issuing opinions on regulatory application, with 13 out of 25 ministries providing 1,577 such opinions in 2025. However, these opinions are often not publicly available or legally binding, failing to substitute for proper bylaws. NALED's "Grey Book" proposes creating a public electronic register for institutional opinions to partially address this issue.

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