The European Union has agreed an additional €166.4 million for Serbia to facilitate accession to the EU.
This announcement was made by the EU delegation in Serbia on Thursday 5 January. The funds will include investment for stimulating competitiveness and innovation, supporting small and medium enterprises, backing local development, and improving border management and control of migration and cross-border crime. They will also be used for financing Serbia’s participation in EU programmes (such as Erasmus+ and Horizon 2020), improving access to education, and providing better education and skills.
The funds will come from the 2016 annual allocation of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) and Serbia will be able to use them over the next three to four years. This EU assistance to Serbia is non-repayable assistance and could reach up to €1 billion over the next four years. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)