Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration and national coordinator for cooperation with the EU in the Danube region Bozidar Djelic said in Brussels that Serbia will within the Danube Strategy be tasked to coordinate three out of eleven domains – transportation, knowledge and security economy and the fight against organised crime.

Djelic told journalists after a meeting of the Danube Strategy at the European Commission that with this Serbia is becoming a state that, although not an EU member, has received the largest part in coordination of the Danube Strategy.

The efforts that Serbia invested in this strategy are hereby recognised, as well as the importance of this great European macro-regional cooperation, added Djelic.

He said that Serbia would coordinate these three domains in cooperation with its partners – in the transport sector with Slovenia, in the field of security with Germany and in the domain of knowledge economy in Slovakia.

Djelic said that Serbia, when it comes to medium-sized projects, has already done its job and reserved €18.5 million from the EU pre-accession funds for this year.

We have already announced €6.5 million for the fort in Golubac, €4.6 million for local infrastructure around Srebrno Jezero, and there will be money for other projects, said the Deputy Prime Minister.

As far as larger projects are concerned, Serbia will work with its European partners, first in creating design documentation, he said noting that major projects cost several million euros.

Starting with the new EU financial perspective as of 2014, some major projects will start, such as the cleaning of the Danube-Tisa-Danube Canal, waste water treatment in Belgrade, which is a project worth several hundred million euros, and the construction of intermodal point in the vicinity of Belgrade, which will connect the Danube with Corridor 10, said Djelic.

He said that Serbia has competition in the efforts to build this intermodal centre, but will have to fight for it to be built right on its territory.