"EU treats Serbia like its member"

"EU treats Serbia like its member"

Davenport on Tuesday delivered the assistance in the form of fodder to farmers in the municipality of Smederevska Palanka, central Serbia.

He used the occasion to point out that assistance to agriculture is one of key priorities for the EU, adding that that it is realized in cooperation with the United Nations and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Davenport also pointed out that farmers from the flooded areas had already been given fruit plants.

He said earlier in the day that the EU treats Serbia "like a member," and is the country's "biggest partner, not only in reconstruction, but also in all other areas where there is cooperation."

He toured homes damaged in the floods that are repaired from EU funds to say that a total of 600 houses would be repaired by the end of the year and 85 built.

"We will continue to finance projects to repair flooded houses and preventive measures so that floods do not happen again," he was quoted as saying, and stressing that more than EUR 170 million was set aside for this purpose from IPA and solidarity funds.

President of the Smederevska Palanka Municipality Radoslav Milojicic said that the assistance in the form of fodder would be given to 700 farmers in the municipality and the value of the assistance was EUR 150,000.

Milojicic said that that about eight and a half thousand hectares of land were flooded in May and stressed that the EU assistance was therefore even more important since it was the only assistance Smederevska Palanka had received.

Director of the government office for assistance and rehabilitation of flooded areas Marko Blagojevic said that so far material aid was given to more than 17,500 families in the amount of more than RSD 4.3 billion.

According to him, the office delivered to the households in Smederevska Palanka RSD 130 million.

Davenport, accompanied by Blagojevic and Milojcic, visited the construction works on the house of Pavle Zivanovic's family, whom he on this occasion presented with the key to the new home.

He then visited the households Kajtazovic, Palic and Dobrivojevic, whose houses were renovated and who today received new furniture from a factory in Smederevska Palanka.

During a visit to the company, "Izvor stil paneli", which itself suffered damage in the May floods and received a machine from the EU, Davenport said that the highest priority in the fight against the consequences of the floods was to continue the work.

"This company is one of hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises that we will help, because they are able to employ people," said Davenport.