Serbia will use only two of promised loans

BELGRADE - Serbia intends to use as soon as possible only two loans to the total value of EUR 267 million out of the EUR 889 million worth of assistance offered as loans at the recently held donor conference in Brussels, the Belgrade-based daily Danas reported.

As the daily learnt in the Office for Reconstruction and Flood Relief, the authorities are preparing the application for an exceptionally favourable Japanese loan and the emergency repair loan from the World Bank.

The Japanese loan worth EUR 40 million will be granted with the maturity date of 40 years and grace period of 10 years, with the symbolic interest rate of 0.01 percent.

The World Bank loan for repair of the damages of the floods totals EUR 227 million and the terms have not been released yet, Danas said.

Most of the EUR 106 million worth of donations were delivered by the EU, to the total value of EUR 80 million, while Switzerland donated EUR 5.9 million to Serbia and Japan delivered a EUR 5 million worth of donations. Serbia received EUR 4.1 million worth of funds from Norway and Austria, Sweden and the U.S. donated EUR 2 million each to Serbia.

The donor conference for Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina was organised on July 16 by the EU, France and Slovenia at the initiative of Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and it gathered 35 countries and seven institutions. France donated EUR 1 million to Serbia, Great Britain sent EUR 1.25 million worth of aid and Slovenia delivered EUR 150,000 worth of assistance, Danas said.

The EU data show that some of the countries that took part in the conference did not make financial donations or offer loans because most of them, including Russia and Germany, sent equipment, funds or manpower to the...

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