EUR 63 million annually from the EU to strengthen the rights of vulnerable groups

October 03 2018 | Belgrade

EUR 63 million annually from the EU to strengthen the rights of vulnerable groups

At a conference held today in Belgrade it has been concluded that Serbia is the first country outside the EU to join the EU's Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme, which has provided it access to funds intended for additional strengthening and empowerment of vulnerable groups.

For this purpose, the EU has allocated EUR 439 million, namely EUR 63 million annually for the period 2014-2020, stated Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy Zoran Đorđevic at a conference where Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimović and Head of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Serbia Sem Fabrizi also spoke on the importance of such a step.

Joksimović has assessed that participation in the EU programme is important and that Serbia has proven to be a credible partner by gaining access to that fund.
“This programme is a programme that treats Serbia as an absolute equal to any other EU member state, which shows how diligent we have been in our efforts. The goal is to improve everyone’s position and this may be the best programme in this regard as it targets the most vulnerable groups,” stated Joksimović.

The objective of the conference was to introduce representatives of the civil society, state institutions, non-governmental sector and the Standing Conference of Cities and Municipalities (SCTM) with opportunities for funding projects aimed at improving the position of vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities, Roma, victims of domestic violence etc.

Source: Tanjug