Brussels, 16/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 16 April, Serbia and the European Union signed an agreement paving the way to this Balkan country joining the European civil protection mechanism.
“At a time of more disasters striking both in Europe and around the world, Serbia's entry into the mechanism underscores the strong necessity and desire to work closer together for better prevention, preparedness and response”, said European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides in a press release when he visited Belgrade on Thursday 16 April. Serbia will become the 33rd country to take part in the EU mechanism - in which all the EU member states, FYROM, Montenegro, Norway and Iceland already participate. The mechanism enables the pooling of resources from the participating countries and the rapid deployment of these resources to natural disaster-stricken countries throughout the world. (Mathieu Bion)