EAR to allocate EUR 125mn to Serbia

The European Agency for Reconstruction will finance projects to the value of EUR 125mn in Serbia by the end of the year. Priorities for 2008 include reform of the pension system, construction of new homes for refugees, protection of consumer rights, improving Roma education and health care, says Daniel Giuglaris, the agency’s director for Serbia. EAR to allocate EUR 125mn to Serbia He believes that 2008 will be a year of challenges, but hopes that Serbia’s problems will be overcome and that the state will move towards EU membership, strengthening the economy in the process. The EAR, which will complete its mission in Serbia this year, will direct the remaining EUR 125mn to reform of the pension system; improving conditions in young offender institutions; consumer protection; improving Roma education and healthcare; construction of new homes for refugees; refurbishment of the railway station and frontier crossing at Dimitrovgrad, and assistance in the reconstruction of the Railway Bridge in Novi Sad. “Furthermore, we’re also very engaged in healthcare,” Giuglaris told B92. “I recently signed off on a big EUR 4mn project, that will provide training for people who wish to be managers in health institutions. That project will run for three years and will establish the conditions, through rules and training, for hospitals to be run by managers, not doctors,” the EAR chief explained. He also made reference to a significant project of assistance to the Yugoslav Film Archive. “We’ve begun digitalizing the archives. The archive is currently in an outmoded format and is thus inaccessible. The new system will allow access to everyone that’s interested,” Giuglaris continued. By the end of the year, the EAR will offer help to the government in accessing means from the so-called pre-accession funds the EU has designated to Serbia. The EAR chief explained that the agency had already given the Finance Ministry significant help in creating a system to tackle corruption. “We’ve helped the Finance Ministry a great deal in the area of defining budgets and allocating funds – we’ve spent EUR 15mn on purchasing computers and technical equipment for the departments concerned. When you’ve got technology of that quality, corruption becomes impossible. "We’ll help further in establishing institutions of independent accountants to monitor and investigate possible cases of fraud or mere mistakes, which are possible when you don’t have a precisely defined control system,” he said. Gugliaris said that the EAR’s greatest success had been its work on modernizing the Nikola Tesla Thermo-Power Station, Serbia biggest supplier of electricity, in which EUR 55mn has been invested. Of the EUR 1.3mn thus far invested by the EAR in projects in Serbia, the largest amount, EUR 450mn, was spent in the energy sector. Moreover, several million euros have been directed to reform of the healthcare system and support of the development of the local community. The EAR says that cooperation with the government has been good and that Serbia has had enough successful projects to take full advantage of the remaining agency funds by implementing more suitable projects.

EAR to allocate EUR 125mn to Serbia

He believes that 2008 will be a year of challenges, but hopes that Serbia’s problems will be overcome and that the state will move towards EU membership, strengthening the economy in the process.

The EAR, which will complete its mission in Serbia this year, will direct the remaining EUR 125mn to reform of the pension system; improving conditions in young offender institutions; consumer protection; improving Roma education and healthcare; construction of new homes for refugees; refurbishment of the railway station and frontier crossing at Dimitrovgrad, and assistance in the reconstruction of the Railway Bridge in Novi Sad.

“Furthermore, we’re also very engaged in healthcare,” Giuglaris told B92.

“I recently signed off on a big EUR 4mn project, that will provide training for people who wish to be managers in health institutions. That project will run for three years and will establish the conditions, through rules and training, for hospitals to be run by managers, not doctors,” the EAR chief explained.

He also made reference to a significant project of assistance to the Yugoslav Film Archive.

“We’ve begun digitalizing the archives. The archive is currently in an outmoded format and is thus inaccessible. The new system will allow access to everyone that’s interested,” Giuglaris continued.

By the end of the year, the EAR will offer help to the government in accessing means from the so-called pre-accession funds the EU has designated to Serbia.

The EAR chief explained that the agency had already given the Finance Ministry significant help in creating a system to tackle corruption.

“We’ve helped the Finance Ministry a great deal in the area of defining budgets and allocating funds – we’ve spent EUR 15mn on purchasing computers and technical equipment for the departments concerned. When you’ve got technology of that quality, corruption becomes impossible.

"We’ll help further in establishing institutions of independent accountants to monitor and investigate possible cases of fraud or mere mistakes, which are possible when you don’t have a precisely defined control system,” he said.

Gugliaris said that the EAR’s greatest success had been its work on modernizing the Nikola Tesla Thermo-Power Station, Serbia biggest supplier of electricity, in which EUR 55mn has been invested. Of the EUR 1.3mn thus far invested by the EAR in projects in Serbia, the largest amount, EUR 450mn, was spent in the energy sector.

Moreover, several million euros have been directed to reform of the healthcare system and support of the development of the local community. The EAR says that cooperation with the government has been good and that Serbia has had enough successful projects to take full advantage of the remaining agency funds by implementing more suitable projects.