The implementation of a project funded by the EU and meant to improve the protection of presonal data in Serbia officially started on Wednesday.

The project began with a meeting between Rodoljub Sabic, Serbian commissioner for information of public importance and protection of personal data, and Slovenian commissioner for information Natasa Pirc Musar.

Sabic said the project would take six months to complete and would include numerous important activities, "starting with an evaluation of how harmonized our regulations are with the EU standards on the protection personal information."

He added the project would include "strengthening the institution of the commissioner by educating and training personnel to monitor and improve data protection in accordance with those standards," Sabic's office stated.

He said he was pleased to work with Slovenian colleagues, because the team led by Pic Musar had gained recognition "not only in Slovenia, but in the EU also, as a team of excellent experts."

The protection of identity data in Serbia is still in its first stage, even with the efforts invested by the commissioner and some initial results in the field, he noted.

According to Sabic, it is an issue of extreme significance in terms of respecting constitutionally guaranteed human rights, and it is also an issue "that will be one of the first the EU will inquire about once the start date for the negotiations is set."