EU projects for people in Boljevac and Bor

Bertolini and Mayor of Boljevac, Nebojša Marjanović, also visited the Health Centre where, with the EU grants of almost 100,000 Euros, works are being carried out on the replacement of the heating system and the installation of new pellet boilers.

"This is my first visit to Boljevac, and I am very pleased to see investments in water supply, heating and energy efficiency, measures that are at the core of the European Union's green agenda and support to Serbia. It is especially important that such projects are implemented in smaller municipalities far from Belgrade and that EU support helps people to improve their living conditions throughout Serbia," said Nicola Bertolini.

“The European Union supported two key projects for our municipality, among them the construction of a water supply system in the largest village in the municipality, in Podgorac, which also has a new school, and where agriculture is the main activity, so a stable water supply is important to us," said Nebojša Marjanović, Mayor of Boljevac. As Marjanović said, in addition to replacing the heating system in the Health Centre, the municipality is working on the third project with the EU, i.e. the integrated territorial investment strategy for the City of Zaječar and the Municipalities of Boljevac, Knjaževac and Sokobanja.

In Bor, Bertolini met with the Mayor Aleksandar Milikić and the team that, within the EU PRO Plus programme, in the previous period have worked on drafting the Strategy for Development of the Urban Area of the City of Bor.

“The City of Bor is working on future development projects with the citizens and civil society, which is a good start as we need mature and strategic projects in order to tackle the important aspects for the City, which in my opinion, are how to have a better environment and keep young people here. We can see that initial steps have been taken and we look forward to working together on the future development of this area”, said the Head of Cooperation of the EU Delegation, Nicola Bertolini, after the meeting.

"We discussed plans and EU support for future projects, as well as the topic of urban development of the city of Bor. In the past three years, we implemented three cross-border cooperation projects worth three million Euros, but even more important than the amount of these funds is their importance for all the citizens of Bor. The city of Bor will always be a good partner of the EU”, said the Mayor of Bor, Aleksandar Milikić.

In Bor Nicola Bertolini also visited the Citizens Association "Kokoro", which, with EU support, is implementing a project that provides comprehensive support services for children and young people with behavioural problems, including education, counselling, resocialization while strengthening the capacity of professionals who work with them. Over 40 young people have been thus far included in various support programmes as a part of this project.