June 4 (SeeNews) - Serbia's government plans to apply for financial support from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to cover costs related to the coronavirus pandemic, European integration minister Jadranka Joksimovic said on Thursday.
The European integration ministry will send a letter to EU Cohesion and Reforms Commissioner Elisa Ferreira on Friday in which it will request financial support from the fund and will deliver its complete application by June 24, Joksimovic said in a press release.
If the European Commission approves the request, Serbia will use the funding to cover part of the costs of measures the government has applied to to limit the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, Joksimovic said.
EUSF was established in 2002 to respond to major natural disasters and express European solidarity to disaster-stricken regions within Europe. Earlier this year, the scope of the fund was extended to cover major public health emergencies, due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. The EUSF may be mobilised at the request of an EU country, or a country involved in accession negotiations with the union.