An agreement was signed in the Government of Serbia between the representatives of Serbia and the EU on the financial agreement for the first part of the IPA program, by which Serbia received 70 million euros in grants from the European Union.
The agreement was signed by the Minister for European Integration, Jadranka Joksimović, and the head of the EU delegation in Serbia, Sam Fabrizi, in the presence of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic. The signing was followed by the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, via a video link, according to the government’s website.
Varhelyi said that Serbia will be included in the plan of the European Commission worth 750 billion euros for the recovery of the European Union from the coronavirus pandemic, reports Fonet.
For a maximum of 450 micro-enterprises, startups and business support organizations from less developed parts of the country, in the areas of competitiveness, agriculture, innovation and rural development, 30 million euros have been earmarked with grants.
25 million euros have been set aside for employment, education, social protection of the most endangered and strengthening the system for responding to infectious diseases such as coronavirus.
The remaining 15 million euros from the Agreement are intended to support Serbia in the process of joining the EU, to support institutions that are successfully dealing with European integration.
European Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi stated that during this year, Serbia will receive another 98 million euros from the EU, as a support to tourism, ecology, energy efficiency, writes Fonet.
Since 2007, the EU has given Serbia 2.8 billion euros in aid, Varhelyi said, noting that the Union is not only the largest donor, but also an economic partner and investor in Serbia.
