J.Joksimović: Commissioner Várhelyi approved 94 million euros to be reallocated from IPA funds
Jadranka Joksimović, the Minister of European Integration said that the European Commission will approve reallocation of means from the IPA funds for Serbia and ongoing projects in the amount of € 94 million to support the health system, in order to prevent further spreading of the coronavirus.
In a letter that Joksimović had received from Olivér Várhelyi, the Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, it is stated that he had given an instruction to his department to release approximately € 94 million, with consent from the Government of the Republic of Serbia, from the ongoing projects, as well as from IPA funded projects which have not been implemented until now.
As stated by the Ministry of European Integration, this means, by item, € 15 million for emergency needs from the ongoing programmes and contracts with the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) and UNOPS (United Nations Office for Project Services).
Moreover, as stated, the possibility of using almost 21 million euros from the Programme for support of EU integrations was considered as well.
In his letter, the Commissioner also pointed to the possibility of further support for compliance with the Government of Serbia by reallocating funds allocated for the realisation of projects whose implementation has not yet started, to support the health system and to overcome the socio-economic consequences in the amount of 57.6 million euros.
“We wish to express our gratitude to the Commissioner for an effective and swift response from the European Commission, who understood our messages aimed at providing emergency support by diverting some of the funds from ongoing programmes and contracts to the amount of around € 94 million and using unspent funds that can be used to support the health system to prevent the coronavirus from spreading further” said Joksimović..
As she said, she is in personal contact with the Commissioner, and she will continue talks with him and propose how to use available resources in the best possible way, while responding to the key, existential needs of our citizens and economy.
Јоksimović had, as recalled in the statement, sent an official letter to the Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi on March 16 with an appeal for the EU to approve reallocation of unspent funds from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) in order to undertake measures for prevention and suppression of the consequences of coronavirus epidemic in Serbia.
In a response she received today, Commissioner Várhelyi briefed Joksimovic on the activities undertaken by the European Commission and the EU Delegation to Serbia in order to provide timely and comprehensive support to the efforts of the Serbian Government in stopping the spread of the coronavirus. The Commissioner informed Joksimović that the European Commission is in contact with international financial institutions in order to meet the needs of the private sector, which has exceptional consequences as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, by pooling available resources.
News taken from the website of the Ministry of European Integration of the Republic of Serbia: https://www.mei.gov.rs/srp/vesti/1999/189/335/detaljnije/j-joksimovic-komesar-varheji-odobrio-srbiji-94-miliona-evra-prenamene-ipa-sredstava/
