Workshop Focusing on Integrity in Defence Budgeting and Finance

A four-day workshop dedicated to “Integrity in Defence Budgeting and Finance” was opened on 18 June 2013 in Belgrade, Serbia. This is the 3rd in a series of workshops taking place across the region within framework of The Building Integrity (BI) Tailored Programme for South Eastern Europe (SEE) launched by the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) in November 2007.

The programme aims to facilitate the understanding of corruption risks for defense establishments and societies in SEE countries, to identify driving factors and conditions that open the door for corruption and crime and to formulate a vision for common action in building integrity in defense. Further, it aims to provide detailed recommendations and advice on the application of methods, procedures and training in building integrity, enhancing transparency and improving accountability in the defense and security sector.

The premise of the Belgrade workshop is that in the current financial situation, the needs far exceed the available resources of the defense sectors in the SEE.  This in turn calls for the most efficient use of available resources according to well-planned strategies, priorities and precise budgeting process. In order to achieve this level of efficiency, one must be guided by effective planning, programming, budgeting and financial control, as well as transparency and accountability in defense resource management. Corruption and improper performance at a political, administrative and military level is one of the most significant factors for downgrading the results from the financing of defense.

The workshop is an opportunity for representatives of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council member states from South East Europe and state institutions of the Republic of Serbia to jointly review the legal framework, organization and financial management procedures in their respective defense sectors and work to identifying the looming risks and instances of corruption and other destructive practices. Through lectures and hands-on group work, the participants will then work to recognize good practices in planning and execution of defense budgets and how they could be applied to the local institutions.   

With this in mind, the workshop participants will tackle issues including: defense economics, defense budgeting and finance process, the regional context, risk reduction and managements, and reducing corruption through improving defense management.

The Belgrade workshop is co-organized by the Ministry of the Defence of the Republic of Serbia (MoD),the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Geneva Center for Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), and SEESAC. It builds upon the work of the previous two events held in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, (20-23 March 2013) and Sofia, Bulgaria (23-25 April 20130 which tackled the capacity for self-assessment of corruption risks in SEE defense establishments, as well as the capacity for designing and implementing of defense integrity programs in those institutions.

You can hear portions of the opening statements here.