Fabrizi: Serbia's healthcare passes coronavirus test

Sem Fabrizi (Beta/Milan Obradovic)

Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Sem Fabrizi said in Belgrade, on April 24, that Serbia's healthcare system had passed the test that the coronavirus posed, and that its effort was supported by the European Union's investment in the national healthcare system.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, following the president's meeting with EU ambassadors in Serbia, Fabrizi said that the EU continued to support Serbia, which was in the process of joining the Union. As soon as Serbia requested it on March 16, the EU approved a financial package worth EUR7.9 million a few days later, together with aid deliveries including medical equipment, masks, containers, ventilators, etc., Fabrizi said.

The EU ambassador to Serbia added that Serbia was part of the EU economy, and that 70 percent of foreign investment in Serbia had come from the EU, and that trade with the Union accounted for 62 percent of Serbia's total trade volume. "Part of the EUR73 million aid package was intended for small- and medium-sized enterprises, as they constitute a pillar of the economy. Coordinated measures are the most important, and we also need to see what the virus will do next," Fabrizi said.

When asked to comment on President Vucic's words at the onset of the pandemic that there had been no solidarity in the EU, Fabrizi underlined that, at the time, there were numerous political statements about a lack of solidarity, but that the numbers were telling a different story now. The EU ambassador also said that the EU and Serbia had developed strong links, and that Serbia's entry into the community was close.

The meeting was attended by Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, the ministers of health and finance, Zlatibor Loncar and Sinisa Mali, as well as the Serbian minister in charge of the country's accession to the EU, Jadranka Joksimovic.