SCC locates projects for the Danube Strategy

the Danube (Photo: eKapija)

Serbian Chamber of Commerce (SCC) has a task over the next two months to locate programs and projects that could be backed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) under the Danube Strategy, it was agreed at a meeting at the SCC.

EIB representatives expressed readiness to support large infrastructure projects in the field of transport, energy and environmental protection as well as the development of functional regions.

- Serious projects are expected from us - SCC Vice President Zdravko Jelusic said after the meeting and added that there were many projects whose implementation had been commenced and then halted.

- It is our task to find out why their implementation has been discontinued - said Jelusic.

According to him, projects that could be implemented under the Danube Strategy are primarily based on cross-border cooperation, which is why Serbia will work with neighboring countries on their implementation.

Edina Czanyi, an EIB representative who runs the EIB Office in Budapest that coordinates projects under the Danube Strategy, pointed to the importance of the inclusion of private sector in that process.

She specified that the Office in Budapest could help resolve possible conflicts, establish regional cooperation and provide funding, stressing that that primarily applied to the projects worth less than EUR 50 million.

The SCC is expected to locate priorities and projects as well as explore which regions are interested in cooperation with neighboring countries and what is the financial situation in these parts of the country.