Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimović, Head of the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Serbia, Ambassador Sem Fabrizi, and State Secretary of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Dragan Jeremić, have visited Užice today as part of the “Look Around Yourself” environmental campaign, which aims to more closely present to the public the efforts of the national institutions, local self-governments and the European Union to improve the environment in the Republic of Serbia.
Užice was the first city to organize a one-day tour of facilities, which have been built with the support of the European Union, as well as a presentation of successful projects in the field of environmental protection.
Together with the representatives of the City Assembly of Užice, headed by Mayor Tihomir Petković, the delegation had visited the Regional Landfill “Duboko” built with the donation of the European Union, as well as the Women's Centre Užice, a social enterprise that is successfully engaged in textile recycling, which received assistance from the European Union through Serbia - Montenegro Cross-border Cooperation Programme.
Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimović has said that EUR 6 million was allocated from IPA 2017 funds for the purchase of equipment for primary waste sorting at the places of waste generation – in households, factories, companies, and for regional landfills in Užice, Pirot, Pančevo, Srem, and Mačva.
“This project is important because it will extend the usable life of the landfill, which is already dealing with the problem of excessive quantities of landfill waste. We have to be responsible towards ourselves and the environment, and we need to change our habits”, Joksimović has stressed, adding that Serbia receives EUR 200 million in grants from the EU annually.
“This week, a contract for an additional EUR 179 million in grants under IPA 2018 will be signed in Brussels, which will further improve our work on reforms. Of these funds, EUR 62 million will be allocated for the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Niš”, Minister Joksimović has announced.
Ambassador Fabrizi has said that the European Union has donated EUR 402 million over the last 19 years for environmental protection in Serbia only, whereby most of this sum has been invested in the construction of wastewater treatment plants, regional landfills, construction and repair of the water supply system, air protection systems, and medical waste management systems.
“The regional landfill in Užice is the first of its kind in Serbia, and it was built with the EU grants and loans of international banks. At an annual level, around 86.000 tonnes of waste from the Zlatibor District and Moravica District are dumped on it. Today, we agreed on further cooperation in order to ensure that “Duboko” regional landfill continues to operate sustainably and safely. The construction of rainwater sewage in settlement of Krčagovo in Užice shall be financed under EU PRO. Through the “Look Around Yourself” environmental campaign, we want to provide assistance to quickly and resolutely address the environmental problems through cooperation between the central and local authorities”, Fabrizi has stressed.
State Secretary Dragan Jeremić has said that 160 new wastewater treatment plants are to be built in Serbia, and that around EUR 6 billion are needed for this endeavour, and it would be impossible to implement that without the help of the EU.
The “Look Around Yourself” environmental campaign aims to promote the importance of protecting the environment and, at the same time, raise awareness and encourage all citizens, communities and institutions of Serbia to engage and become active in protecting the environment in local communities throughout Serbia.
The “Look Around Yourself” environmental campaign, which is being implemented by the Ministry of European Integration and the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Serbia, together with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, was launched on 12 June and will last until mid-July throughout Serbia.
Source: Tanjug
