The Operational Committee of the EU and Member States, with the financial help of the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), approved 263 million euros in EU grants for seven projects in Serbia in the segment of the green economy.
The projects that will be financed are in the segment of energy, environment and transport infrastructure, and the plan is to rebuild the Paraćin-Međurovo section on the Belgrade-Niš railway, while the residents of the Belgrade municipality of Palilula will receive a modern sewage system.
Also, with this investment, the energy sector of Serbia will be improved with new renewable energy capacities in Vlasina and Kostolac. The Serbian European Integration Minister, Tanja Miščević, also said that those funds will significantly improve the lives of people throughout Serbia.
“People will see the results (of this help) very soon. Commuting by train from Niš to Belgrade will be significantly shortened and the safety of passengers will be improved, the production capacities of our energy system will be improved, especially in the wind energy sector and will also reduce losses in the power transmission system”, she pointed out.
The EU for You organization has announced that in the next seven years, the EU will mobilize up to 30 billion euros in cooperation with international financial institutions, through the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans, which was launched in 2020.
The following EIP projects for Serbia have already been approved this year: the removal of German sunken vessels from World War II from the Danube-Prahovo area, railway bypass around Niš, Stalać-Đunis railroad segment, Trans-Balkan power corridor, advanced system for remote reading of electricity metres in Kraljevo, Čačak and Niš, introducing broadband internet access in rural areas and construction of University Children’s Hospital Tiršova 2 in Belgrade.
The EU has invested over 830 million euros in the Serbian energy sector in the last two decades. EU support to the energy sector in Serbia in 2022 is estimated at 100 million euros. Furthermore, the European Union will provide Serbia with 165 million euros of direct budget support so that individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises can better cope with the current energy crisis.
(RTS, 17.12.2022)
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