On 28 July 2017, an informative meeting was held with media representatives in Kraljevo in order to highlight the importance of public administration reform and the role of the media in that process, as one of the activities of the project Contributing to Public Administration Reform in Kraljevo, implemented by Praxis within the framework of  the Western Balkans Enabling Project for Civil Society Monitoring of Public Administration Reform (WeBER), financed by the European Union and co-financed by the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Marija Dražović, Praxis Legal Advisor, informed the participants about the importance of public administration reform in the EU accession process. It was noted that the EU enlargement criteria recognised and emphasised the need for building a national public administration that would have the capacity to pursue the principles of good governance and effectively transpose and implement the acquis communautaire.

Jasmina Miković, Praxis Deputy Executive Director, spoke about the role of civil society organisations and the media and emphasised their importance in raising awareness and knowledge of citizens about the progress of reforms and their significance for the European integration process through responsible and informed monitoring and reporting.

Media representatives stressed that they recognised the importance of their participation in the process of public administration reform, but also the low level of awareness among citizens about the effects of successful reforms on their everyday lives. 

It was concluded that the civil society and the media faced numerous challenges in the reform of public administration, and therefore it was very important to strengthen their capacities in order to be efficient "monitors" and active participants in the reform process.

See the statement here.