December 23 (SeeNews) - The European Commission is releasing a further 84.8 million euro ($92.5 million) for Serbia under the Instrument of Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) for 2014 following the signing of a financial agreement on Wednesday, the government in Belgrade said.
In 2014, the EU approved a total of 187.1 million euro in IPA funds for Serbia. The first tranche of 102.3 million euro was dispersed mid-2015 after the government's signed an agreement with the EU in June, while the remainder was made available under the new agreement, the government said in a press release.
These funds are intended for realization of public administration reforms, for the increase of competitiveness of Serbian enterprises, as well as projects in the energy sector, interior affairs and employment.
Among other things, the program will also finance youth employment, small and medium business grants, the reduction of harmful emissions by Serbia's power plant Nikola Tesla and the strengthening of border controls, the government noted.
Earlier this month, the European Commission said it has adopted its 2015 package of pre-accession assistance programmes to support reforms and regional cooperation in countries wishing to join the EU, totalling approximately 1 billion euro. The package foresees that a total of 196.6 million euro will be granted to Serbia for democracy and governance, rule of law and fundamental rights, and transport policy.
($=0.92 euro)