EU assistance of EUR 94 million to battle corona coming!

The European Union approves EUR 94 million from current projects and IPA funds for prevention and suppression of the consequences of the new corona virus.

Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimović has sent an official letter to European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations Olivér Várhelyi, appealing to the EU to enable the reallocation of unused funds from the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) for the purpose of undertaking measures for prevention and suppression of the consequences of the Coronavirus in the Republic of Serbia.

In the reply which has arrived today, Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi informed minister Joksimović of the activites taken by the European Commission and the EU Delegation in Serbia, with the goal of securing a timely and comprehensive support to the efforts made by the Serbian government in their endeavors to stop the spreading of the coronavirus.

The letter states that Várhelyi gave instructions to his office to, with the consent of the Government of Serbia, reallocate around EUR 94 million from current projects and the IPA project funds which had not been realized yet, as stated on the Government site. 

The funds include EUR 15 million for emergency needs from current programs and contracts with UNDP and UNOPS, while the possibility of using additional almost EUR 21 million from the program of support for European integrations has been taken into account.

The letter also points to the possibility of additional support in the amount of EUR 57.6 million. Instead of the projects which haven’t been put in motion, this amount would be reallocated toward the support to the health system and overcoming of socioeconomic consequences of the coronavirus.