A sustainable future exists for those who are able to change, to identify problems, change bad practices, introduce new solutions and work every day for the present and future of every citizen in every part of Serbia, stated Serbian Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimović.
“The time has passed and the deadline for the use of phraseology and populism has expired, we are now turning to concrete results, concrete solutions”, Joksimović said at the signing of three memoranda under the framework of the EU Project Preparation Facility (EU PPF).
According to her, since 2012, and in particular 2014, the Government has been implementing a strong development programme, initiated by the Prime Minister of that time and current President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, which the Government has continued to implement in continuity from 2016.
“Today, we are carrying out in a serious manner what we promised to our citizens”, said Minister Joksimović.
She highlighted that the signing of memoranda on the modernization of the Velika Plana-Niš railway line, on remediation and revitalization of the Great Bačka Canal and on the management of wastewater in Kraljevo did not represent just an acceleration of European integration.
“The objective here is exactly what has been summarized in the message the EU prepared for Serbia – “EU for you – a modern and sustainable Serbia”. This is, first and foremost, the primary goal of this Government of the Republic of Serbia, and of course, in partnership with the EU,” stated Joksimović.
The overall investment value of 15 projects that shall be implemented through the European programme is approximately EUR 900 million, while the Minister has pointed out that this is not just an issue revolving around money, but a question of sustainable development for every part of Serbia and an obligation not to circumvent any citizen.
Reminding that Serbia has been cooperating with the EU successfully for many years, Joksimović pointed out that Serbia has shown that it is also ready to independently recognize development projects.
“Projects are not always developmental, and that is why we identified a methodology for prioritizing infrastructure projects in 2014 and 2015, which proved to be so successful that others in the region began to apply it. In this way, we have shown that we are ready to independently identify what provides the most significant development dimension to our economy,” stated Joksimović.
The Minister stressed that Serbia has also prepared a plan for the prioritization of international development aid, namely, a plan that shall provide the method of utilizing EU and other donors’ funds for sustainable development projects throughout the country.
“This is extremely important because there used to be irrational overlaps in the previous period, a duplication of financing of the same projects, as well as unnecessary borrowing from international financial institutions and even commercial banks”, concluded Joksimović.
Source: Tanjug
