Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Bozidar Djelic said  the EU earmarked approximately €20 million over the last three years for the programme of support to the municipalities of north-eastern Serbia.

At the conference titled "From Plans to Action" he said that the project’s implementation will improve life in the municipalities of north-eastern Serbia, namely Banat, Branicevo and the Danube basin.

He recalled that a strategy of local sustainable development for 15 municipalities was created.

Djelic said that infrastructure projects worth €13.5 million have been carried out and budget revenues have been increased in 29 municipalities.

In the field of technical assistance attention was paid to the reform of local tax administration, enabling additional revenue to be raised for local governments in the amount of €15 million, he said.

Speaking of infrastructure projects, the Deputy Prime Minister said that this refers to the system of water supply in Petrovac Na Mlavi and Pozarevac, Vrsac Technology Park and the Ecka industrial zone in Zrenjanin.

Djelic said that this programme will create approximately 1,000 new jobs in Vrsac and about 400 in Zrenjanin.

He announced that on 25 May he will sign the whole IPA programme for Serbia for 2010 with Head of EU Delegation in Serbia Vincent Degert and added that the programme is worth €180 million.

Degert said that the goal of the municipal support programme is to increase their capacity and involve citizens in decision-making for projects at a municipal level, and added that similar projects should be implemented in other parts of Serbia.

Degert specified that approximately €7.6 million will be earmarked for capacity building of municipalities, €10 million to continue implementation of infrastructure projects, and €13.5 million for the development of the south-western municipalities of Serbia.

Djelic told reporters he does not expect problems relating to the participation of Serbia in the EU and the Western Balkans conference in Sarajevo on 2 June.

When it comes to Serbia’s participation in this conference, there are two things that should be taken into account and these are that its state policy concerning Kosovo-Metohija and commitment to regional cooperation must be respected, the Deputy Prime Minister said.

He said that he expects support for further EU enlargement at the Sarajevo conference and that dialogue on projects which will be part of the general programme document Europe 2020 will be launched.

Djelic noted that enlargement of the EU and the Eurozone has not been blocked by the crisis. This can be seen by the example of Estonia, which will become a member of the Eurozone early next year.