ROME – After the official acceptance to FIDIC, International Federation of Consulting Engineers which provides standards for the managing of construction projects, the Association of Consulting Engineers of Serbia (ACES) has become a member of EFCA – European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations. Serbia is the only non-EU country (except Norway) which received the “member-observer” status and will stay in that position until Serbia becomes an official candidate for EU, when it will upgrade to full membership in EFCA.
With the support of USAID Serbia Competitiveness Project, ACES representatives attended the General Assembly held on May 27th, 2010 in Rome, where ACES membership was officially announced. Numerous EFCA members participated in this meeting to exchange experiences and establish new contacts. EFCA brings together 26 national consulting engineering associations from various European countries. The goals of this organization are creating positive impact on European Union legislation in order to increase competitiveness and promotion of transparent public procurement procedures, as well as implementation of EC standards in member countries. Membership of ACES, our national association of consulting engineers in EFCA enables Serbian companies to establish connections through ACES with European experts within this sector of economy, and allows the transfer of knowledge and opportunities for business cooperation. ACES applied for EFCA membership at the beginning of 2010 and was officially approved by the EFCA Board of Directors in May 2010.
Nikola Matic, representative of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Serbia, addressed the Assembly, thanked for the membership and emphasized the importance of this event for ACES and for the industry in Serbia. “On behalf of ACES, I cordially thank you for the acceptance to EFCA and the opportunity to attend this renowned conference. ACES mission in Serbia is to organize, connect and support companies that are involved in the consulting industry, to protect their business interests and reinforce their reputation by insisting on best business practices and international standards. Also, one of our highest priorities is to promote internationally recognized FIDIC standards and thereby improve the competitiveness of Serbian consulting firms in the domestic and international markets. One of our biggest challenges is to invoke the interest of authorities to recognize and accept the values that ACES, FIDIC and EFCA can provide to our society. In this context, ACES expects support from EFCA in the field of national public procurement procedure improvement, enhanced application of international standards, and the increase of existing local consulting resources”, Nikola Matic stated at the membership announcement ceremony.
During this event, the cooperation agreement between FIDIC and EFCA was signed for the first time. These two distinguished organizations will be working together on promoting the highest ethical standards and transparency of the process of contracting and managing construction projects, which means a big step forward for consulting engineers, both in Europe and worldwide.
In addition to this year’s EFCA General Assembly meeting, the annual conference was held which addressed the climate change topics, and it pointed out the importance of the role of engineers in the actions against global climate problems.
