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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

EU donates €2.5mn to regional development agencies

Belgrade, 30 June 2008

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic attended today the signing of contracts on donations by the EU between Head of the European Commission Delegation to Serbia Josep Lloveras and representatives of agencies for the regional development of Kragujevac, Leskovac, Uzice, Zrenjanin and Zajecar.

Bozidar Djelic

Addressing a press conference, Djelic said that signing the contracts marks the start of IPA projects in the area of regional development and the development of local self governments, worth nearly €42 million.

He recalled that in November last year the Serbian government signed an IPA framework financial agreement on the use of non-repayable pre-accession funds worth €1 billion for the period from 2007 to 2011.

Serbia must make intensive efforts in the area of equal regional development, said Djelic adding that the ratio of salaries in developed and undeveloped areas is 4:1; the ratio of unemployment is 6:1, while differences in the GDP are as much as 22:1.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that it is expected that when France takes over EU presidency, Serbia will be given candidate status at the summit of EU heads of state to be held on December 11 or 12 this year.

Josep Lloveras

Others expectations are that visa restrictions for Serbian citizens will be removed by the end of the year, and that Serbia competes for EU structural funds and that we will get our first projects next year, said Djelic.

He said that those expectations do not mean imposing positions on France as the future chair of the EU and added he is aware of the fact that Serbia must full cooperate with the Hague tribunal if it wants to get EU candidacy status.

As part of the €2.5 million donation, five regional developmental agencies will be supported, namely those in Kragujevac, Zajecar, Zrenjanin, Leskovac and Uzice.

Lloveras said that with today’s signing of these contracts, Serbia is making the slow transition from the CARD programme to IPA funds, which should contribute to Serbia’s progress on the whole.

Jean-Francois Terral

He expressed hope that the new Serbian government will prioritise the law on balanced regional development, which is of crucial importance for Serbia’s economic development.

The ceremony was attended by Slovene Ambassador to Belgrade Miroslav Luci and French Ambassador to Serbia Jean-Francois Terral.

Terral said that Serbia signed Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) and it can no longer move backward, but only toward the EU.

France will during its presidency continue to make efforts to help Serbia acquire EU candidacy status, said Terral.