President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso said EU would continue to assist Serbia with the floods recovery, not only in weeks and months, but in the years to come.
Solidarity – it is the essence of Europe, said Barroso following his visit to “Jovan Jovanović Zmaj” primary school in Obrenovac.
Barroso said the EU allocated EUR3 million right after the devastating floods had stopped, and decided to redirect EUR30 million of IPA funds towards the country’s flood recovery. He said the money would allow the immediate start of recovery works, and relieve budget pressures.
A donors conference would be organised in cooperation with France and Slovenia in Brussels on 16 July, Barroso said, adding that efforts would be made so as to include the World Bank and United Nations in the conference’s work.
According to him, the conference would be an excellent opportunity for Europe to show its solidarity with Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, whereas the intention is to allocate certain amount of money for flood prevention, apart from the primary purpose which is the flood recovery.
Barroso congratulated Serbian authorities and humanitarian organisations that helped with the aftermath of floods, and expressed his gratitude to 22 EU Members States that had directed their immediate assistance, underlying that the EU had delivered its assistance as early as 48 hours after the floods first took place.
The assistance provided proves “EU solidarity is not an imaginary thing or a dead letter”, but showed in reality.
President of the European Commission expressed his condolences to families and friends of flood victims, and said that the disaster was an opportunity to showcase the solidarity, especially towards the most vulnerable social groups.
