Giaufret: Serbia to Receive EUR1.5 Billion of 6 Billion Total Intended for Western Balkans

Emanuele Giaufret (BETAPHOTO/MILAN OBRADOVIC)

The chief of the EU Delegation in Serbia, Emanuele Giaufret, stated on Sept. 4 that Serbia would receive around a billion and a half from the growth plan, of the total of six billion euros designated for all countries of the Western Balkans.

Giaufret said that the growth plan demonstrated the EU’s commitment to enlargement, and that Serbia needed more assets in order to be more competitive on the market.

“Western Balkan countries should create a list of reforms and, whenever some of them are realized, that would be accompanied by additional funds, so that Serbia would be more competitive on the market. Green and digital transition must go faster and deeper and there is the educational system which should provide young people with the skills needed for working in the modern world,” Giaufret said in an interview to RTS.

Commenting on the current situation in Kosovo, Giaufret stated that the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina remained the key issue in the negotiations. “That envisages the realization of all existing agreements, including the forming of the Community of Serb Municipalities,” Giaufret said.