Serbia received 70 million euros in grants from the European Union, as aid after the coronavirus epidemic. Another package of 100 million euros is expected, and the European Commissioner for Neighborhood, Oliver Varhelyi, surprised the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, when he said that they were looking for a way to include the Western Balkans in the giant aid package that the EU gives to member states.
So much criticized European solidarity still exists. 450 micro-enterprises, especially those in remote parts of Serbia, will be able to apply for a grant from the European Union’s 70.2 million euro package. Part of the amount will also go to support the employment of vulnerable social groups.
“Sometimes someone will say, Jadranka stated that, how much the members of the European Union received, and how much we, as a country that is not yet a member, is already on the European path. And I, like someone who cared about money, and even today a little I am worried, have always been extremely grateful for every euro, especially since no one has the obligation to give us the money of their taxpayers,” said the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic.
If it had entered the European Union, instead of being on the European path from 2004 until today, 70 million euros might be a shortfall in financing from Brussels. Croatia alone will receive seven billion euros from a package of 750 billion euros intended for economic recovery after the pandemic, and the hardest hit Italy will receive as much as 170 billion euros.
“I have good news for the entire region and for Serbia. We will try to include Serbia in that side of the recovery package. That means that we will propose to the member states additional funding for the IPA pre-accession instrument,” said Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi.
“We think it’s fair, but we didn’t expect it. Now we are happy and a little surprised. It is something that the whole Western Balkans is waiting for with great attention. And with great attention and great hopes we will follow the events in Brussels in the hope that we can get significant support,” Vucic added.
Miodrag Zec, a professor at the Faculty of Philosophy, says that it is not good to rely too much on anyone’s financial help, because even when it is non-refundable, it is someone’s tax burden and indirectly costs us.
“There is the biggest loss of Serbia, not that we will not get money, so the Croats will get it, so we are sad…The real problem is that our system does not produce a surplus. What will help us?,” said Zec.
Three and a half million euros from the EU package, for which a contract was signed today, have been earmarked for the purchase of medical equipment and medicines, in order to make supplies, necessary in the event of a new epidemic, N1 reports.
