Embassy: France will pay additional EUR 1 million to Serbia

BELGRADE - The French Embassy in Belgrade voiced satisfaction over the great success of the Donors' Conference organized to help repair the damage caused by the May floods in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, which raised a total of EUR 1.846 billion for the two countries, adding that France will pay an additional EUR 1 million in emergency financial aid to Serbia.

The conference held Wednesday in Brussels has brought together 60 countries and 23 international organizations which jointly raised a sum of EUR 1.8 billion for the two countries, which is far more than originally expected, the Embassy states in a release.

More precisely, the amount of aid to be allocated to Serbia is close to EUR 1 billion (EUR 995 million).The European Union pledged a donation of EUR 80 million.

In addition to its contribution to the European budget (from which the European Commission's aid will be allocated), France will pay an additional EUR 1 million in emergency financial assistance to Serbia, states the release.

This sum is added to the funds already made available to Serbia (within the need assessment), the release specifies.

France will continue to provide support and expert assistance to Serbia in the restoration stage, to which the donors will need to pay special attention in order to secure the efficiency and transparency of international aid.

The Donors' Conference was organized at the initiative of French President Francois Hollande upon his meeting with the President of Serbia Tomislav Nikolic on May 22, the Embassy noted in the release.

The preparatory meeting held in Paris on July 8 contributed to the success of the conference, as well as the well-prepared participation of the Serbian team led by...

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