Serbia to get EUR 200 million in pre-accession assistance annually - Austrian Chamber of Commerce helps Serbia on its path to the EU

- Serbia is at the start of its path to the European Union and Austria will provide it with full support, especially in the economy sector, because Serbia is part of European tradition and European culture - said Christoph Leitl, the president of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (ACC).

Last night Leitl attended a press conference in Belgrade dubbed "Austria's Support to Serbia on its Path to the EU" that was organized by the Trade Department of the Austrian embassy to Serbia and the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (SCC).

Saying that some preparations related to the Danube cooperation process had already been carried out, Leitl stressed that Serbia would be allocated EUR 200 million in EU pre-accession assistance every year, most of which would be spent on agricultural development.

- Austria is number one investor in Serbia with investments of EUR 2.9 billion, and it is also among the top partners of Serbia when it comes to trade which goes up to about EUR 800 million per year - Leitl said and underlined that that was an important economic indicator of business cooperation between the two countries.

When asked to announce one of the new Austrian investments in Serbia, Leitl revealed that the Postal Company of Austria was interested in the postal distribution center of Serbia.

President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce Zeljko Sertic pointed to the significance of Austria's economy as one of the leading investors in Serbia, adding that the ACC was the best example of how economic representatives of a country should function and that the SCC was learning from them.

He thanked Leitl and the ACC for their support to the Serbian economy in both Serbia and Austria, and he expressed special gratitude for the support and assistance to Serbia in its accession talks with the EU.