BELGRADE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th July, 2021) The European Union has been the largest donor to Serbia, having provided the Balkan country with more than 3 billion Euros ($3.5 billion) in pre-accession aid over the past 20 years, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday.
Belgrade is hosting the EU Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) conference, with Vucic and European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi attending the online event.
"The EU is our largest donor, with more than 3 billion euros in aid given to Serbia over the past 20 years," Vucic stated.
The IPA provides financial assistance to help candidate countries boost their economies to the required levels ahead of the accession to the bloc.
In 2012, Serbia received an EU candidate status The accession negotiations have been stalled by the sluggish normalization process between Serbia and the self-proclaimed republic of Kosovo.
