Serbia

GIZ local staff

National employees: 188
International employees: 22
Integrated experts: 5

_{(as at: 31.12.2022)}  

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has been working in Serbia since 2000 and maintains an office in Belgrade.

To stimulate economic growth and foster closer alignment with the European market, Serbia is pursuing a consistent economic policy. However, the economy is hampered by high youth unemployment and bureaucratic hurdles. To drive economic development, it is imperative to get more people into skilled employment, target government funding more effectively and support business start-ups.

Serbia uses fossil fuels to generate almost all of its power. To reduce the high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, it will be necessary to expand the use of renewables. Furthermore, increased energy efficiency is a decisive factor in making energy generation more climate-friendly.

Serbia is seeking to join the European Union (EU), and accession negotiations have been running since 2014. However, to meet the admission criteria, the country will have to implement a raft of reforms in the field of good governance and democracy. Here, it will be necessary to strengthen the independence of the judiciary and the freedom of the press, improve the targeting of government funding and further curb organised crime.

In Serbia, GIZ works primarily on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the EU. The core areas of cooperation are:

• economic development and employment
• climate and energy
• good governance

GIZ advises Serbia on economic development and promotes cooperation with other countries. In order to bring more people into employment and offer prospects for young people, GIZ supports moves to align vocational education and training more closely with the needs of the young and the requirements of the private sector. It also supports services for SMEs and business start-ups.

In 2021, Germany and Serbia signed the ‘strategic cooperation on climate action’. The partnership supports a sustainable climate policy in line with the climate objectives and the Green Agenda. The main objectives are to expand the use of renewable energies, improve energy efficiency, support the transition towards a green economy and promote climate-friendly urban development. GIZ helps implement the cooperative measures and works to improve the legal, institutional and technical conditions for expanding the use of sustainable energy technologies.

In the area of good governance, GIZ supports Serbia in modernising municipal services and limiting illicit financing flows. On behalf of the EU, GIZ also promotes the rule of law, press freedom and the fight against organised crime.