EU earmarks EUR 65mn for Serbia and Bosnia

EU earmarks EUR 65mn for Serbia and Bosnia

BRUSSELS -- The European Commission (EC) has earmarked EUR 65 million in aid which will underwrite the cost of damage caused by flooding in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

EUR 3 million of this sum has been allocated as relief to the most endangered in these regions, and will be spent on food, sanitation, health, first aid and accommodating flood victims, Beta reported.

According to a statement released in Brussels on Tuesday, the aid will be disbursed on the heels of a previous, urgent humanitarian aid package intended for flood-affected areas of both Serbia and Bosnia.

The EUR 62 million will be used for repairing property in the short-term and middle-term, while the money was withdrawn from the EU's existing IPA program, and will, as short and mid-term aid be delivered before the end of June, the news agency reported.

The stated purpose of the package is assisting the renewal of infrastructure and basic company equipment and agricultural estates with the aim of restarting production.

Furthermore, the EC said, EUR 2 million will be disbursed as part of the IPA program for buying modular, flood-reaction vehicles, under the EU's civil protection system.