The five year Mandate of this European Commission – also known as Barroso II. – is going to be over in a few weeks, and it is impressive how much Serbia has come along in its EU integration path in that time. Since I took over the enlargement portfolio in February 2010, we have seen Serbia applying for membership, being granted Candidate Status, and becoming a negotiating country, wrote Štefan Füle in an article published in Blic daily newspaper.
Serbia continues to sufficiently fulfil the political criteria, but it still needs to implement comprehensive reforms and focus on the fundamentals first, in particular on the rule of law, including the full exercise of freedom of expression, public administration reform, together with economic governance, said 2014 European Commission Progress Report on Serbia.
Following the presentation of Annual Progress Report for Serbia by European Commissioner for Enlargement Štefan Fule in Brussels, Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport handed it to Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, and then discussed with journalists Report’s key parts such as necessity to continue normalisation of the relations with Pristina, the need for progressive alignment of Serbian foreign and security policy with those of the EU, as well as the situation in media, justice and other fundamental areas.
The EU in Serbia is supporting Belgrade Design Week (BDW) which every year gathers the most important professionals from the design industries and turns Belgrade and Serbia into a global centre of design, the Head of EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport said at the opening of the 9th BDW.
The tendering procedures for construction and reconstruction of private houses in flood affected areas included in European Union Assistance for Flood Relief in Serbia Programme will be launched and advertised in the week of 6 October 2014. After the best offers from construction companies are selected, the reconstruction is expected to start by the end of October 2014. Reconstruction of schools as well as support to agricultural households is also underway.
The seven winners, 12 runners up, including Serbia, and three special mentions for the European Enterprise Promotion Awards were announced. Organisations from all 28 EU Member States as well as Iceland, Serbia and Turkey, competed for the chance to win either a specific category or the prestigious Grand Jury Prize. Initially, hundreds of projects competed in national competitions. Then 58 national winners entered the European level of competition.
The Palliative Care Unit, which is for patients that suffer from severe, life limiting diseases, which are accompanied by chronic pain, offers the possibility of keeping the dignity of the patients and maintaining their quality of life. The Unit offers support to the patients and their families from the moment they are diagnosed with a severe disease up to the moment of intense sadness when the family is saying their last goodbyes. One such unit operates in Zrenjanin General Hospital where patients and their families have only words of praise for the staff.
The EU is concerned about the violations of the ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine, recalling that a lasting ceasefire was key to success of efforts to reach a sustainable political solution in Ukraine, the spokesperson of High Representative said in a statement.
European Union is fully committed to assist the region of Western Balkans in addressing the issue of refugees at both national and regional level. Being the first partner and the biggest donor of this programme, the EU has allocated EUR230 million in order to support the housing of refugees in the region. This means new homes for over 16.000 most vulnerable families or 45.000 persons in Serbia, said Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport on the occasion of beginning of implementation of the Regional Housing Programme (RHP).
Delivery of wheat seeds and fertilisers for autumn sowing has started in Osecina, intended for 100 agricultural flood-damaged households. Seeds and fertilizers are distributed by United Nations Organisation for Food and Agriculture (FAO) which is in charge with implementation of project aimed at supporting agricultural producers under the European Union Assistance for Flood Relief in Serbia programme.
