Serbia can get 186.7m EUR from EU – knowledge of European procedures needed for access to funds

European Commission will make final decision prior to the end of May about which of the 80 submitted projects for year 2007 will be financed from the preadmission fund of European Union – the councilor in the Ministry of Finance, Nikola Aksić, announced, adding that Serbia can get 186.7m EUR for that purpose.

At seminar "Programming and European Funds Management at Local Level", Aksić said that 186.7m EUR was set aside for Serbia from the Instrument of Preadmission Aid (IPA) for year 2007, 190.9m for year 2008, 194.8m for year 2009 and 198.7m EUR for year 2010.

- The projects submitted for year 2007 will not be implemented this year, but in 2008, probably in the second quarter of the year – Aksić pointed out.

He announced that the new border projects would start at the end of 2007 and at the beginning of 2008 – with Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and with Montenegro, which are financed from IPA.

Aksić reminded that the countries in the process of stabilization and admission had been using the unique IPA fund since 2007, as well as that total of 11.5 billion EUR was at their disposal for period from year 2007 to 2013.

The Deputy Manager of the EU Joining Office, Srđan Majstorović, pointed out to the representatives of local self-governments, which took part in the seminar, that the good preparation, knowledge of European procedures, learning of foreign language and collaboration with non-government sector should be part of their work, so that the major part of the funds could be attracted when the door was opened.

The councilor in the Embassy of Spain to Serbia, Horhe Urbiola de Montenegro, said that Spain, since it had joined EU in 1986, had realized big progress thanks to European aid funds.