In cooperation with the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Judicial Academy, the PFM Facility project, funded by the European Union, organised a two-component specialised training on advanced use of the Public Procurement Portal. The training was held in Vršac (November 26–28) and later in Belgrade (December 8–9), with the participation of prosecutors and police officers working on corruption cases.
The program aimed to strengthen the capacity of prosecutors and police to independently and more effectively use the Public Procurement Portal, enabling them to identify irregularities more efficiently, collect evidence faster, and improve cooperation with the Public Procurement Office.
Participants were introduced to the key functionalities of the Portal, including access to procurement plans, tender documentation, notices of procedure initiation, contract award decisions, and contract implementation data. Special attention was given to advanced search options, monitoring tools, and the analytical module, which allow quicker identification of potential irregularities and support evidence-based decision-making.
“Cooperation among institutions in the field of public procurement is of crucial importance, as cases are complex and require coordinated work. It is desirable to recognise and further strengthen successful examples, such as good cooperation with the Public Procurement Office. Maintaining trust, professional relations, and personal contacts among institutions remains a prerequisite for effective action and quality information exchange,” emphasised Miljko Radisavljević, Public Prosecutor of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office, at the opening of the training in Vršac.
A total of 32 representatives from the Special Departments for Combating Corruption and the Ministry of Interior from Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Niš completed the training. Participants gained practical knowledge of advanced search methods, the Portal’s analytical module, and risk indicators in public procurement.
This training was organised within the framework of the PFM Facility project, funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with the Centre of Excellence in Finance (CEF) and the Ministry of Finance of Slovakia.
The enhanced skills in using the Public Procurement Portal are expected to significantly contribute to faster and more efficient evidence collection in public procurement cases, as prosecutors and police inspectors can now independently access key information within just a few minutes. This reduces the administrative burden on the Public Procurement Office and accelerates the handling of complex cases. At the same time, strengthened inter-institutional cooperation among the prosecution, police, and the Office represents an important step toward better oversight of public procurement and a more effective fight against irregularities and corruption, directly contributing to protecting the public interest.