The United States has donated close to a billion dollars to Serbia since the democratic changes in 2000, of which half of that amount is for the legal and political development of Serbia, according to the records of the E-system for Coordination of Development Aid (Isdacon).
U.S. donations reached the highest amounts in the early 2000s, when they exceeded an average of 65 million euros a year.
After 2006 until today, the amount of donations has twice exceeded the amount of 50 million euros and once 30 million euros.
In other years, the amounts were around 10 million euros. The total amount of donations until 2020 is 776,314,656.00 euros.
Of the total amount of donations, the largest amounts belonged to projects for legal, political and economic development.
Good cooperation between the United States and Serbia in the field of economy and law is reflected in the strategic goal of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Serbia to support the vision of Serbia as a democratic, prosperous country advancing towards Euro-Atlantic integration.
To help Serbia achieve this, USAID works closely with NGOs and institutions in Serbia on important programs in two key areas: strengthening democracy and governance and fostering economic growth.
USAID supports a number of programs aimed at developing democratic culture and practice in Serbia. It provides funding and technical assistance to NGOs across Serbia to help citizens understand and support necessary reforms, while at the same time overseeing the work of the national government and local governments.
Assisting independent local media makes reliable news information available to citizens and helps ensure their long-term sustainability. Support for democratic political parties emphasizes the need for internal party democracy, policy development and communication with citizens. One of the programs helps the judiciary manage its finances and improve the efficiency of the courts, while supporting the establishment of a budget and finance office in the Serbian National Assembly.
Serbia has also made significant progress in the field of economic growth, working to build a legal and policy framework for economic growth, but more important steps need to be taken towards sustainable stability. USAID is working with the government, NGOs, and U.S. ministries to deepen structural reforms and improve the legislative process, support the implementation of new laws, and promote better governance, including exercising the authority of key institutions and their accountability to the public.
Much attention is also paid to educating and informing the public in order to understand and support reforms. These efforts at the national level are expected to increase investor confidence in the rules and behavior of key institutions, which would affect economic growth and investment in Serbia. Better connected, more reliable and accountable governance should also lead to greater confidence in the domestic public and stronger support for the continued progress of democratic governance and economic reforms.
It is impossible not to notice the influence that, through development projects, America has had on the development of democracy in Serbia and raising awareness of the modern way of doing business and governing.
Together, the United States and the EU have donated nearly 6 billion euros to Serbia over the past 20 years (the EU has donated 4.7 billion euros). Of the partner countries from the EU, according to the size of donations, Germany stands out the most with 368 million euros (2016), Norway 171 million euros, and there are also Sweden and Italy with 230 million euros each.
In addition to the United States and the EU, Switzerland is on the list of major donors to Serbia with 176 million euros and Japan with 127 million euros.
There is no data available for donations from Russia because they are not published in the records of isdacon, Nova Ekonomija reports.
