Nearly billion euros for Serbia's flood recovery

At the Donors’ Conference organised in Brussels by European Commission to help Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in dealing with the aftermath of devastating mid-May floods, EUR995.2 million were pledged for Serbia alone. The EU pledged grants worth 195 million euros.

Delegations of over 60 countries and 23 international organisations, as well as representatives from the civil society and private sector, managed to overall mobilise pledges of additional EUR809.2 million for Bosnia and EUR41.4 million for cross-border activities.

The financial assistance will provide the two countries with highly valuable help to answer the immediate needs of affected people before winter comes, starting with the reconstruction of houses and public buildings, rehabilitation of livelihoods as well as rapid restoration of water and energy supply. It will also contribute to consolidate flood management and protection, disaster prevention and rebuild transport and energy infrastructures.

The assistance will be implemented in a coordinated manner, with EU support, by using the existing structures already in place in both countries and in close cooperation with the international donors’ community, the EU said in a statement.

Both countries and donors have agreed on the implementation of flood prevention and risk management measures, regional cooperation within river basins management, development of national mechanism for civil protection, investments in energy and environmental policies, financing private sector to help economic recovery.

During the recovery and reconstruction phase, specific attention should be granted to the most vulnerable groups of populations such as children, women, senior citizens, Roma populations and disabled persons in order to avoid further aggravating their situation, the statement read. Priority support should be provided to these groups in particular for housing solutions as well as ensuring their access to health and education.

It is of paramount importance that authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia make efficient, transparent, including through websites, and swift use of the financial assistance received. Donors’ coordination should be improved with EU support. Swift implementation of the pledges is expected as it would substantially contribute to the needed reconstruction. A high level meeting the implementation of these conclusions, said in the statement issued following the Donors’ Conference.

This meeting would once again be hosted by European Commission, said Commissioner for Enlargment Štefan Fuele adressing the Conference’s participants.

“Our commitment to you will be durable: it will remain as strong as ever over time. In six months time, the Commission will host a follow-up conference to track progress in implementing of what has been pledged today,” Fuele said.

“Six months from now, when the follow-up event takes place, I trust that the emergency work will have been finished and that, thanks to your hard work and our solidarity, the reconstruction work will be well on its way to being finalised. I also hope that we will be able to say that we are taking measures to ensure that any future floods never cause the same devastation,” said the Enlargement Commissioner.

He said he was proud of the aid provided by the EU to affected countries.

“I am proud of the strong and immediate European Union response through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, followed by rapid humanitarian aid to fill the immediate needs of the most vulnerable populations,” Fuele said.

“It has been the largest operation since the creation of the Mechanism in 2001. Twenty-three EU Member States offered assistance such as motor boats, helicopters, pumps and humanitarian kits, and approximately 800 relief workers were deployed to the two countries during the emergency operations,” he added.