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EU AND SERBIA PARTNERS IN THE FIELD OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
The EU supports Serbia to achieve its goals in the field of environmental protection and to gradually raise them to the level of EU standards, while informing citizens, private and public sector, media, etc. In the past 12 years, Serbia has received over eight billion euros from the EU budget alone, including 3.3 billion euros in grants, making the EU by far the largest donor in Serbia. The EU has so far invested over 600 million euros in this sector in Serbia.
The EU is a world leader in environmental protection. Within the framework of the European Green Agreement, which aims to make Europe a climate-neutral continent by 2050, a plan of measures in the field of climate, circular economy, construction, mobility, sustainable food chains, biodiversity and pollution removal has been developed. Serbia's commitment to achieving these goals is crucial to the European integration process and will contribute to a more efficient use of resources. The transition to a clean, circular economy and measures to stop climate change, while simultaneously recovering biodiversity and reducing pollution, will support the economy and create new jobs.
Results
The most important results of EU support to Serbia are air quality measurement, construction of wastewater treatment plants in Subotica, Sabac, Leskovac, Kula and Vrbas, and renovation of water supply systems in Pozarevac, Indjija and Petrovac na Mlavi. A completely new water supply system was built in Veliko Gradište.
The EU has funded the installation of an ash disposal and filtration system at the Nikola Tesla Thermal Power Plant (TENT). In addition, equipment for monitoring emissions of harmful substances has been installed in TENT A and B and in the Thermal Power Plant "Kolubara".
Regional landfills have been built in Pirot, Uzice, Sremska Mitrovica, Sabac and Subotica. The medical waste management system has also been improved. The EU helped build the first regional sanitary landfill in Duboko, with a capacity of 80,000 tons per year, which serves nine municipalities in western Serbia.
The EU also financed 10m euros for the flood defense system in Sabac. In Subotica, the EU has invested three million euros in the construction of a modern regional waste management center. All of the above has contributed to the improvement of the lives of hundreds of thousands of Serbian citizens.
The emission of solid particles into the air in Obrenovac and its surroundings has been reduced as much as six times. The existing ash transport and disposal systems at TENT have also been modernized, reducing coal use.
The EU also funded the procurement and installation of 28 measuring stations and air quality monitoring instruments. By investing two million euros for the procurement of laboratory equipment, instruments and high-tech devices - the EU has contributed to improving the work of the National Laboratory for Water, Air and Soil Analysis.
Natura 2000
Serbia has a unique biodiversity and unique habitats in Europe and is home to a large number of endangered species. The EU supports the protection of biodiversity with the Natura 2000 project. In Srpski Krstur, near Subotica, lives the only pair of crusader eagles, birds on the coat of arms of the Republic of Serbia. The population of this extraordinary species is now three times larger and is on its way to recovery. So far, EU support to the nature sector has reached more than four million euros.
Raise awareness
The EU is also working to raise environmental awareness and promote measures throughout society. National campaign "Look around you - Get moving", Ada Climate Day; tree planting campaign conducted with the EXIT Foundation in support of the climate caravan and the Green Fest Festival, and participation in several public discussions and debates - are just part of the EU's efforts to raise citizens' awareness so that they become drivers of change in individual and the collective level.
In February 2020, when air pollution in Serbia exceeded daily values, the EU supported Serbia to take measures and solve this problem, in an effort to show that the European integration process can be useful, because it provides expertise, examples of good practices and investments.