The main goal of setting energy efficiency priorities is to find ways to reduce energy consumption without harming consumers and the environment. The renovation of buildings can be considered one of the main aspects of energy efficiency in the European Union (EU). In the EU, only 5% of the renovation projects have been able to yield energy-saving at the deep renovation level. No other study has thus far ranked the EU member states according to achieved results in terms of increased usage in renewable sources, a decrease in energy usage and import, and reduction in harmful gas emissions due to energy usage. The main purpose of this article is to perform a comparative analysis of EU economies according to selected indicators related to the usage of renewable resources, energy efficiency, and emissions of harmful gasses as a result of energy usage. The methodological contribution of our study is related to developing a complex and robust research method for investment efficiency assessment allowing the study of three groups of indicators related to the usage of renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, and ecological aspects of energy. It was based on the PROMETHEE II method and allows testing it in other time periods, as well as modifying it for research purposes. The EU member states were categorized by such criteria as energy from renewables and biofuels, final energy consumption from renewables and biofuels, gross electricity generation from renewables and biofuels and import dependency, and usage of renewables and biofuels for heating and cooling. The results of energy per unit of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions per million inhabitants (ECO2), energy per capita, the share of CO2 emissions from public electricity, and heat production from total CO2 emissions revealed that Latvia, Sweden, Portugal, Croatia, Austria, Lithuania, Romania, Denmark, and Finland are the nine most advanced countries in the area under consideration. In the group of the most advanced countries, energy consumption from renewables and biofuels is higher than the EU average.

Т а м а р а В е с и ћ , Н е н а д Р а в и ћ , М а р и ј а Ђ е к и ћ

Shadow economy is a collection of economic activities which do not contribute to one country's GDP, which the state does not have control over and which are beyond the limits of legality. In this paper, we will show the causes, manifestations, consequences and representation of the shadow economy in Serbia. Likewise, we shall talk about the problem of assessing the shadow economy, about the factors causing it and about the systematization of its advantages and disadvantages. The shadow economy is still a big problem for the domestic economy even though Serbia has decided to fight it with different measures.

Global business changes and technology development open up new opportunities for banks to improve the quality of their services while reducing costs and increasing efficiency. One of the consequences of accelerated technological development and the efforts of banks to increase competitiveness is the emergence of electronic or internet banking. Electronic banking in Serbia began to be applied somewhere in 2003, but at a much slower pace than in developed countries. The main limitations of the insufficient use of electronic banking are related to the still insufficient use of the Internet and advanced technology, the resistance of the population to changes, the weak information system and the lack of information. Recently, the development of e-business in Serbia has been faster, and the assumptions are that this development will continue, especially in terms of the use of mobile banking. Banks should make efforts to create a culture of trust among customers and promote e-banking services, in order to influence public awareness of the positive aspects of this form of banking services. The paper describes the origin, current development and future perspectives of the use of electronic banking in the Republic of Serbia.

Managerial knowledge and skills are some of the most crucial factors of the survival and sustainability of small and medium enterprises. Achieving growth and development of small enterprises requires the implementation of a professional approach to management and to the organization. This paper shows the results of an empirical research carried out in the first half of 2020 by having applied the survey method. An e-questionnaire was designed for the purposes of this research and it was distributed to micro, small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurial stores in Serbia. The goal of the research was to examine the occurrence of professionalization of managerial functions in the SME sector in Serbia, with a special emphasis on the financial function. The research results have shown that professionalization of managerial functions in the SME sector of the Republic of Serbia is not sufficiently represented and that with an increase in the level of professionalization of managerial functions becomes a great potential for the promotion of the efficiency and effectiveness of management in small and medium enterprises.