Dacic: EU to help Serbia in wake of devastating floods

BELGRADE - The EU will help Serbia in the wake of the devastating floods that have hit the country, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic has said, adding that this was the most significant message of his visit to Brussels on Wednesday.

After a meeting with the European Parliament rapporteur for Serbia Jelko Kacin, Dacic told reporters in Belgrade that consultations will need to be held on the pace and ways of providing aid as this is the first time Serbia is asking for such assistance since becoming an EU membership candidate.

The minister also said that the EU will help Serbia formulate its request for assistance, based on a damage assessment, to facilitate and speed up the procedure.

Serbia should submit the request by August at the latest and the European Commission will evaluate it, Dacic said.

If deemed justified, the request will be tabled to the European Parliament and the European Council, he said.

Kacin, who was accompanied by representatives of associations of Slovenian Serbs, said that the European Parliament has never been an obstacle to assistance and that funds for this purpose must be secured before the new European Commission is formed.

I think that the scale of the cataclysm is so large that a donor conference is required and that much will be done towards that goal, Kacin said.

Serbia should be the engine of EU accession, as well as of its enlargement - this is a historic opportunity for Serbia, he said.

Kacin extended condolences to the families of the flood victims on behalf of Slovenian President Borut Pahor, who is to visit Serbia next week.

Speaking to reporters, Nikola Todorovic, who is coordinating aid efforts in Slovenia, said that 17...

Continue reading on: