Pursuant to Articles 32 and 44 of the Law on Churches and Religious Communities (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 36/2006 and 80/2026), Article 46, in conjunction with Article 66, paragraph 5, of the Law on Local Self-Government (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 129/2007, 83/2014 (other law), 101/2016 (other law), 47/2018 and 111/2021 (other law)), Article 44 of the Statute of the City of Smederevo (“Official Gazette of the City of Smederevo”, No. 2/2019, consolidated text), Article 11 of the Decision on the Budget of the City of Smederevo for 2026 (“Official Gazette of the City of Smederevo”, No. 6/2025 and 4/2026) and Articles 2 and 5 of the Rulebook on the Method, Procedure and Criteria for Selecting Programmes of Public Interest Implemented by Churches and Religious Communities in the Territory of the City of Smederevo (“Official Gazette of the City of Smederevo”, No. 3/2017),
the City Council of the City of Smederevo, at its 122nd session held on 10 September 2026, issues the following
Public call for applications
for co-financing programmes of public interest implemented by churches and religious communities in the territory of
the City of Smederevo in 2026
A Public Call is hereby issued for the allocation of funds from the budget of the City of Smederevo for co-financing programmes of public interest implemented by churches and religious communities in the territory of the City of Smederevo in 2026, in the total amount of RSD 10,000,000, provided for by the Decision on the Budget of the City of Smederevo for 2026 (“Official Gazette of the City of Smederevo”, No. 6/2025 and 4/2026), under Section 4: City Administration, Programme 13: Development of culture and information, Programme activity 0003: Improving the system for preserving and presenting cultural and historical heritage, Function 840: Religious and other community services, Item 209, Economic classification 481: Grants to non-governmental organisations.
Churches and religious communities established in accordance with the regulations governing their establishment are eligible to take part in the Public Call if their buildings are, or will be, located in the territory of the City of Smederevo, or if their programme of public interest is implemented in the territory of the City of Smederevo.
When funds are allocated among eligible participants, priority is given to the church or religious community with the larger number of believers in the territory of the City of Smederevo.
Co-financing under this Public Call covers:
1. the programme for the adaptation, reconstruction and maintenance of churches, religious buildings and parish houses, for which RSD 7,800,000 has been allocated;
2. the programme for the protection and care of churches and religious buildings of exceptional historical, national and cultural importance, for which RSD 500,000 has been allocated;
3. the programme supporting the organisation of religious events of importance to the City of Smederevo, for which RSD 1,200,000 has been allocated;
4. the programme for improving cooperation between the local government and churches and religious communities in the educational, historical, cultural, socio-humanitarian and other fields, for which RSD 500,000 has been allocated.
The application form and the statement form for the applicant’s responsible person are available on the official website of the City of Smederevo (www.smederevo.ls.gov.rs) and can also be collected from the information desk of the City Service Centre of the City Administration of the City of Smederevo, Omladinska 1.
2.
Participants applying for the following programmes:
1. Programme for the adaptation, reconstruction and maintenance of churches, religious buildings and parish houses, and
2. Programme for the protection and care of churches and religious buildings of exceptional historical, national and cultural importance,
shall submit:
- an application to the Public Call,
- a decision of the competent body of the church, church municipality or religious community on taking part in the Public Call,
- a statement by the responsible person,
- a decision of the competent body of the church, church municipality or religious community on carrying out the works,
- the necessary permits or consents of the competent authorities or authorised persons confirming that the construction, maintenance, adaptation or reconstruction of the building is necessary, or confirmation from the competent authority that the religious building is of exceptional historical, national and cultural importance,
- a detailed description of the maintenance, adaptation or reconstruction works on the church, religious building or parish house, with the financial plan of the programme (an overview of the individual activities set out in the body’s decision, with the funds needed to carry them out, a breakdown of the amount from own funds, and the total amount from the City budget and other sources),
- details of the person responsible for implementing the programme and using the funds.
The standards and criteria for selecting projects for co-financing under programmes 1 and 2 are:
- the categorisation of the church or religious building as cultural property (of exceptional importance, of great importance, cultural monument),
- the importance of the church or religious building for culture, art, history and the like, where the church or religious building has not been designated a cultural monument, is in the process of being designated as one, or is property under preliminary protection,
- the degree to which the church or religious building is at risk.
Participants applying for the following programmes:
3. Programme supporting the organisation of religious events of importance to the City of Smederevo, and
4. Programme for improving cooperation between the local government and churches and religious communities in the educational, historical, cultural, socio-humanitarian and other fields,
shall submit:
- an application to the Public Call,
- a decision of the competent body of the church, church municipality or religious community on taking part in the Public Call,
- a statement by the responsible person,
- a detailed description of the programme and its implementation timeframe.
The complete application documents are to be submitted in a sealed envelope, with the basic details of the applicant written on the back.
A separate application must be submitted for each programme, in a separate sealed envelope.
Applications are to be submitted to the filing office of the City Administration of the City of Smederevo or sent by post to: City Administration of the City of Smederevo, Commission for Conducting the Public Call for co-financing programmes of public interest implemented by churches and religious communities in the territory of the City of Smederevo in 2026, Omladinska 1, 11300 Smederevo, PAK 230116.
3.
Applications to the Public Call must be submitted within 15 (fifteen) days of the publication of the Public Call for co-financing programmes of public interest implemented by churches and religious communities in the territory of the City of Smederevo in 2026 on the notice board of the City Administration of the City of Smederevo and on the City’s official website, that is, by 25 September 2026 at 1500.
Incomplete, late and inadmissible applications will not be considered.
For any questions about the application procedure, interested parties may call 064/8449319. Contact person: Slaviša Stošić, Chair of the Commission.
City Council of the City of Smederevo
No. 401-4244/2026-09
Smederevo, 10 September 2026
PRESIDENT
OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Jasmina Vojinović