EU not opening humanitarian center at Ponikve after all

Maja Kocijancic, Spokesperson of the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, denied for Radio Free Europe the writings of the Serbian press about the alleged preparedness of the EU and the USA to open a humanitarian center at the Ponikve Airport near Uzice.

The center, as stated, should act as a sort of a counterpart to the Russian humanitarian center in Nis.

– The Public Enterprise Ponikve Airport applied, with its partners, for the EU funds with a project offer called Water Air Reaction Network – WARN-NET from the program calling for a strengthening of cross-border cooperation. It has been estimated that the request doesn't meet the criteria for financing and the EU has therefore not taken its financial support into consideration. This decision has been sent to the submitter of the request – says the written statement sent to Free Europe by Kocijancic.

Previously, the director of the Ponikve Airport, Sasa Savic, stated that the airport had applied at the EU Delegation to Serbia in May 2016 for the construction of an emergency center, which was supposed to cover western Serbia, eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina and northern Montenegro. According to him, the project was considered, but a confirmation of realization has not yet arrived:

– The project was not approved at the end of the last year, but it has passed with the EU Delegation in Serbia. Representatives of the US Embassy in Belgrade have visited us, saying that the idea is interesting. We are also waiting for their reply – Savic said, as reported by Danas.

The Ponikve Airport is located 17 km northwest of Uzica, and nearby tourist centers include Tara, Zlatibor and Mokra Gora. It was built in mid-1980s as a military airport, is located at around 900 meters of altitude and has a runway about three kilometers long.

JP Aerodrom Ponikve Užice

Grad Užice

Delegacija Evropske unije u Republici Srbiji Beograd

Maja Kocijancic

Water Air Reaction Network WARN NET

humanitarian center at Ponikve Airport

Russian Serbian center Nis

Sasa Savic

emergency center western Serbia