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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

€3.4m for poverty reduction

Belgrade, 21 February 2006

Head of the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister's team for implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Zarko Sunderic said that the UK government donated €3.4 million financial support for implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy over the next three years.

The funds will be used by the ministries and parliamentary committees for both implementing the strategy and coordinating activities of all bodies involved in the programme.

Following today's meeting of the Serbian parliament's Committee on Poverty Reduction, Sunderic said that in the upcoming period essential activities of this committee will be monitoring the Poverty Reduction Strategy, harmonizing legislation in that area, and coordinating work of the relevant bodies of the Serbian government, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other parliamentary committees.

Sunderic pointed out that the Serbian government is ready to finance the implementation of the strategy from the budget, which implies hiring of an expert advisor to help parliament pass the appropriate legal acts and bring them in line with the strategy.

Head of the UNDP Poverty Reduction and Economic Development (PRED) Sector Branka Andjelkovic said that the main topics of the seminar to be organised in cooperation with parliamentary committees in 2006 will be employment, adult education programmes, uneven economic development and development of social services on the local level.

Andjelkovic explained that a three-year UNDP programme refers to organisation of expert seminars in parliament, public discussions with participation of civil society and study tours, as well as offering expert help in implementation of laws.

According to Andjelkovic, the main activity of this organisation will be to offer assistance in bringing Serbian regulations in line with European legislation and approximating Serbia to the European Union in economic development and social policy.

Andjelkovic said that in 2006 UNDP plans to extend cooperation to other parliamentary committees as well, above all the Committee on Labour, Veterans and Social Issues, the Education Committee and the Committee on Local Self-Government.