Keepin touch

Whether you have a question, comment, suggestion or any problem in the purview of the government, send us your message and we will try to respond as soon as possible. If your problem is not in our purview, we will forward your message to the relevant institution.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Sustainable development strategy – precondition for Serbia’s EU accession

Belgrade, 5 December 2007

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister’s advisor for sustainable development Srdja Popovic stated today that waste water in Belgrade flows into the Sava and Danube because not a single filter has been set up in the city.

At the presentation of the sustainable development strategy held at the Serbian government, Popovic said that according to a survey conducted by the Strategic Marketing agency, Serbian citizens are not sufficiently informed on pollution-related issues and a third of them feels threatened by the unsatisfactory conditions of their living environment.

According to him, after existential and health issue, the state of the environment is the third ranked item which citizens fear the most.

Manager of the project for drafting the national sustainable development strategy Jovan Protic explained that the document reflects the relation between ecology and economy which enables economic and social development along with the preservation of nature.

Protic specified that the strategy is based on three principles – ecology, economy and the social aspect – and recalled that it is one of the preconditions for Serbia’s EU accession.

He announced that on December 7 a public debate on the sustainable development strategy, led in 18 towns, will be concluded in Pancevo and its implementation through pilot projects throughout the country should begin in mid-2008.

According to him, the term sustainable development is defined as development which satisfies the needs of mankind without lessening the possibilities for future generations to fulfil their existential needs.

Deputy Prime Minister’s advisor for sustainable development Zoran Cvijanovic stressed that the sustainable development strategy is an agreement between the state and its citizens. He noted that Serbia is the greatest polluter of the Danube River and added that the most polluted point in Europe, channel Danube-Tisa-Danube, is on Serbia’s territory.

The drafting of the sustainable development strategy was approved in 2005 by the Serbian government and 40 experts from the government and non-government sectors took part in it. The final draft of the document will be submitted to the government in end-December.