Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimović and MEI are in constant contact with international partners to identify concrete instruments of support to national institutions involved in the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.
In this regard, Minister Joksimović has stated that today the European Union has adopted one of the most important decision since the beginning of the crisis, which should enter into force tomorrow already – formation of emergency medical equipment supplies (respirators, protective gear, vaccines and medicines, laboratory equipment) worth EUR 50 million, which will be located in one or several EU member states for the purpose of ensuring quick response in case of shortage of this equipment in one of the countries affected by the pandemic.
The Minister has added that the equipment will be distributed through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.“The important thing for us is that, in 2014, we managed to include Serbia into the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, which enables us to have the same rights as the full EU member states and be the beneficiaries of such important support”, said Joksimović.
Minister Joksimović has noted that, thus far, the EU has not had supplies of the aforementioned medical equipment, which makes this EU decision important both for the member states and for Serbia as an acceding country and full member of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
The participants in the EU Civil Protection Mechanism include all EU member states, as well as Serbia, Iceland, Norway, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Turkey as non-EU countries.
Source: Tanjug
