Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Oskar Benedikt, together with 16 representatives of EU Member States, ended the three-day visit to South West Serbia in Ivanjica Municipality. The Delegation visited the kindergarten in local community Bukovica, which has been built and equipped with support of the European Union, Swiss Government and Serbian Government.

“I am happy to see that the projects funded by the EU in South West Serbia have an impact on the lives of the population. This project of constructing and equipping the kindergarten has also justified its purpose, because today it represents a safe and comfortable place for 180 children,” Deputy Head of the EU Delegation said.

Benedikt stressed that this project was a good example of continued support and cooperation of the European Union with the municipalities in Serbia, because the technical documentation for the kindergarten was prepared in 2009 through PRO Programme funded by the EU and Switzerland. It was the timely preparation of the technical documentation, as a prerequisite for any further intervention, that has enabled Ivanjica municipality to receive funds from the Serbian Government for construction, after which the kindergarten was equipped using European Union and Swiss Government funds through EU PROGRES.

Deputy Head of Mission of the Netherlands Embassy in Belgrade, Marielle Van Miltenburg, said that the Netherlands, holding the EU presidency until the end of June, strongly supported Serbia on its path towards membership.

“The European Union has been providing financial assistance to Serbia, and during this visit to the municipalities Raška, Sjenica, Novi Pazar and Ivanjica, embassy representatives have had the opportunity to see how the local government has made the effort to use the funds from EU donations in the right way,” said Deputy Head of the Netherlands Mission.

“This is why we hope this sort of cooperation would continue in the future,” she added and recalled that European Union and Swiss Government through European PROGRES development programme supported the development of 34 municipalities in South East and South West Serbia, with over EUR24 million.

At the meeting between the Delegation with Ivanjica Mayor, Milomir Zoric, it was stressed that Ivanjica had successfully cooperated with the development programmes funded by the EU in the last ten years, PRO, EU PROGRES and now European PROGRES, and that the EU supported the development of planning documents that should provide conditions for the development of the mountain Golija which has the greatest potential for tourism not only in the region, but the entire country.

The Delegation visited the Church of St. Achillius in Arilje and the Sopocani Monastery, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage list, and Oskar Benedikt expressed his satisfaction with the visit to a place of such spirituality and art. “In addition to the European Union investing in Serbia, we would also like to learn about the cultural and historical heritage of the country,” said Benedikt.

The European Union, together with the Swiss Government, has been continuously supporting the development of South West Serbia, investing over ten million Euros in over 250 projects in the last ten years. During the three-day visit, the Delegation of 16 deputy Ambassadors of European countries led by Deputy Head of EU Delegation, Oskar Benedikt, saw the projects helping the development of infrastructure, supporting competitiveness of local economies and creating new jobs, as well as improving social inclusion and good governance in Raška, Sjenica, Novi Pazar and Ivanjica.

The European Union and the Government of Switzerland will support the activities of the European PROGRESS programme, which contributes to the sustainable development of the South and South West Serbia, with a total of 24.46 million euros. Approved projects will be aimed at strengthening local administration, creating a favourable environment for the development of infrastructure and economy as well as improving the implementation of social inclusion and employment policy. The programme is implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the Central Finance and Contracts Unit at the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia (CFCU).

The municipalities included in the programme are as follows: Novi Pazar, Ivanjica, Nova Varos, Priboj, Prijepolje, Raska, Sjenica and Tutin in South West Serbia, as well as Prokuplje, Blace, Zitoradja, Kursumlija, Leskovac, Bojnik, Vlasotince, Lebane, Medvedja, Crna Trava, Vranje, Bosilegrad, Bujanovac, Vladicin Han, Presevo, Surdulica, Trgoviste, Brus, Aleksinac, Gadzin Han, Doljevac, Merosina, Svrljig, Babusnica, Bela Palanka and Knjazevac in South East Serbia.