ECB/ESCB co-operation with the National Bank of Serbia

In cooperation with 17 partner national central banks, the ECB launched a “nine-month needs analysis” programme for the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) today. The aim of the programme is to provide the NBS with a report that identifies areas in which potential progress could be made over the coming years by implementing new rules or policies, adopting practices or training staff. The report will provide input to the NBS’s future strategy vis-à-vis the ESCB.

The analysis will cover six different areas: 1) supervision of banks; 2) harmonisation of legislation in line with the acquis communautaire under the competence of the NBS; 3) liberalisation of capital movements; 4) conduct of monetary policy and foreign exchange rate regime; 5) monetary, financial and balance of payments statistics; and 6) financial services consumer protection.

The programme was announced today in Belgrade by Ms Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, Mr Radovan Jelašić, Governor of the NBS, Mr Daniel Giuglaris, Head of the Belgrade Operational Centre of the European Agency for Reconstruction, and Ambassador Josep M. Lloveras, Head of Delegation of the Delegation of the European Commission to the Republic of Serbia. The European Union has assigned EUR 400,000 to the programme from the Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation (CARDS) facility.

The programme, which involves the ECB in partnership with the Nationale Bank van België/Banque Nationale de Belgique, the Българска народна банка (Bulgarian National Bank), Česká národní banka, Danmarks Nationalbank, the Deutsche Bundesbank, Eesti Pank, the Bank of Greece, the Banque de France, the Banca d’Italia, the Central Bank of Cyprus, Latvijas Banka, the Magyar Nemzeti Bank, De Nederlandsche Bank, the Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Narodowy Bank Polski, Banca Naţională a României and the Bank of England, will be implemented from today. In order to coordinate activities, the ECB and the partner national central banks will dispatch a Resident Programme Coordinator to Belgrade for nine months.

Ms Tumpel-Gugerell, Mr Jelašić, Mr Giuglaris and Mr Lloveras consider this programme to be an important step towards strengthening economic and financial cooperation between the National Bank of Serbia and the central banks of the European Union, as well as between the European Union and the Republic of Serbia.