600,000 Euros for South and South West Serbia600,000 Euros for South and South West Serbia600,000 Euros for South and South West Serbia600,000 Euros for South and South West Serbia600,000 Euros for South and South West Serbia600,000 Euros for South and South West Serbia600,000 Euros for South and South West Serbia600,000 Euros for South and South West Serbia
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600,000 Euros for South and South West Serbia

26 October 2011, Sjenica

The European Union and the Government of Switzerland will provide 460,000 Euros to fund the implementation of five infrastructure projects selected as the best ones among the 16 projects submitted within the second public Call for Proposals of the European Partnership with Municipalities Programme – PROGRES, the Steering Committee decided at its fifth meeting today.

Funding was approved for the following projects: completion of the construction of the kindergarten in Bukovica in the Ivanjica municipality; upgrade of the sewage system in Crna Trava; reconstruction of the Termovent plant in Medveđa allowing it to manufacture briquettes; construction of a bridge in the village of Tibužde in Vranje; and replacement of external joinery in the Preševo primary school Ibrahim Kelmendi.

The Steering Committee also approved the PROGRES plan to financially support advancing the work of the local tax offices in Priboj, Sjenica, Bujanovac, Preševo, Vranje, Surdulica, Lebane, Blace, Prokuplje, Bojnik and Žitorađa. The funds will primarily be used to upgrade the databases of tax-payers and purchase IT equipment and the necessary software. The European Union and the Government of Switzerland will support this activity with around 85,000 Euros, while the beneficiary municipalities will contribute with 9,500 Euros.

The Steering Committee also upheld the projects prepared by the Vranje and Prokuplje Business Incubator Centres. The Vranje BIC project aims at supporting the employment of persons who returned to Serbia under the readmission agreements and the Prokuplje BIC project assists the establishment of a pomiculturist cluster in the Toplica region.

Apart from approving financial support for the above activities, the Steering Committee also focused on the headway made so far in the implementation of the approved projects, particularly in the field of infrastructure. The Committee assessed that the municipalities, which have received the greatest assistance, have made progress after a period of delays in the payment of contributions and in the preparation of tender documentation, and said it expected that the implementation of the projects would intensify in late fall.

PROGRES Manager Graeme Tyndall said: „The municipalities need to fulfill the obligations in the grant agreements. This will enable us to, on the one hand, implement the approved projects to the benefit of the citizens, and, on the other, prepare the municipalities for opportunities to secure new grants from donors, primarily EU pre-accession funds.”

The Steering Committee meeting was attended by the representatives of the ministries of the Republic of Serbia, the municipalities participating in the implementation of PROGRES, the representatives of development agencies and projects and civil society, and of the donors – the representatives of the European Union and the Government of Switzerland, while the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) as the executive partner, performed the role of Committee Secretary.

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Please be informed that the European Partnership with Municipalities Programme – EU PROGRES was completed on 31 March 2014. If you would like to learn about the activities and results of the European PROGRES, which is a continuation of development support of the European Union and Government of Switzerland to the South East and South West Serbia, please visit www.europeanprogres.org