The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, in consortium with Slovakia and Germany is implementing a Twinning project to strengthen the consumer protection system in Serbia in response to new market challenges. Sharing more than 30 years of experience, and assisting in preparations for accession to the EU - these are the main objectives of the activities carried out by the Polish Office in the EU candidate countries.

Challenges of the current economy, such as the digitization and adaptation of regulations to the challenges of e-economy, are important for both the EU member states and those that are applying for the membership.  As part of the cooperation project that has just been launched, the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection will be responsible for sharing its knowledge and experience mostly gained in the area of e-commerce and e-enforcement. In particular, we will support proposed legal changes and the enforcement of the e-commerce law. The activities carried out by the Office include, among other things, training the officials, entrepreneurs, and NGOs, as well as conducting consumer surveys.

- The cooperation with partners from the Slovak Republic, Germany and Poland will lead us to develop best legal practices and tools for consumer protection that will be transferred to the beneficiary. In this manner, joint achievements of consumer protection authorities from the European Union serve the welfare of consumers in entire Europe - says Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

Moreover, the Office will also help Serbia strengthen its entire consumer protection system. Drawing on the experience of the European Consumer Centre, which has been operating at the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection for over fifteen years, the Office will prepare a model of how to solve  cross-border problems.

It is also important to prepare Serbia for the legal and institutional changes resulting from country's future membership in the European Union. The experience of the Polish equivalent institution will serve as one of the models for developing solutions that will help Serbia build a consumer protection system compatible with other member states in the future.

The project entitled "Reinforcement of consumer protection in Serbia as a response to the new market challenges" was launched in June 2021, and will be implemented for 27 months.  The project was inaugurated today in Belgrade. The event was attended by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection Tomasz Chróstny and representatives of the countries participating in the consortium. The Twinning project is funded by the European Commission, and its total budget amounts to EUR 1.5 million. The National Contact Point (NCP), located in the Department of Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, supports the Polish public administration institutions implementing twinning projects. More information is available at: https://twinning.msz.gov.pl/fiszki-twinning/reinforcement-of-consumer-protection-in-serbia-as-a-response-to-the-new-market-challenges/

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL