The EU Green Day was held today in Šabac. The aim of the event was to draw attention to projects in the field of environmental protection financed from EU funds and part of the campaign “Look around yourself – Move”.
The Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Ambassador Sem Fabrizi, said that in the pre-accession assistance package of 179 million euros, which was recently signed, a large part of the project is envisaged for environmental protection.
“Environmental protection is certainly one of the key things for joining the European Union. Chapter 27 deals with the quality of water, air, and soil. To succeed in this chapter, a collective effort is needed to fulfill all the goals defined in it. That’s exactly why we launched the ‘Look around yourself’ campaign together with the Ministry of the Environment to raise the awareness of the citizens of Serbia”, says Ambassador Fabrizi.
Mayor of Šabac Nebojša Zelenović says that the European Union is the largest and most important partner, not only in Šabac but also in Serbia.
“We here in Šabac have over 30 million euros that the European Union invested in the town of Šabac. The town has solved the problem of waste disposal, waste disposal, wastewater treatment and now has full flood protection. Now the most important thing is to learn to manage the best possible way what we get, “claims the mayor of Šabac.
Ambassador Fabrizi and Mayor Zelenović visited the Wastewater Treatment Plant, a project worth 18.4 million euros, of which nearly 10 million euros are a part of EU donations. Since the end of 2017, when it is commissioned, 17,000 cubic meters of industrial and industrial wastewater arrive in the plant every day.
Representatives of the EU Delegation and the City Administration of Šabac also visited the Transfer Station for the delivery of solid waste, the construction of which enabled the disposal in a sanitary way. They also visited the works in Drenovac, where a new flood protection system is currently being built, and 10 million euros are provided from EU funds.
In a debate on the “Move for the Environment” held at the Center for Vocational Training, Fabrizi said that EU environmental standards are the highest in the world, but that there is still a lot of work in the field. For this reason, recently, the Ban on Disposal of 10 most frequently used plastic disposable products has been adopted, said the Head of the EU Delegation. Representatives of the project “Caravan for the Climate”, led by the French Institute, as well as the embassies of Sweden, also participated in the discussion with the youth.
Ambassador Fabrizi challenged the Mayor Šabac to organize a waste collection campaign in the city – trash challenge, in the light of the one organized by the EU Delegation in Serbia at the start of the campaign in Belgrade on June 14th.
“We are pleased to accept the challenge. Not only do we accept, but also understand, as everyone in this city, how important it is for citizens to have a healthier environment”, Mayor Zelenović replied.
Šabac is the second city in which the “EU Green Day” event took place, after Užice. Campaign “Look around yourself – Move” started on June 12th and will last until the half of July, with the goal of raising awareness about the importance of protecting the environment. Since 2001, the European Union has donated to Serbia EUR 402 million for environmental protection.
