EU support for the improvement of social services and environmental protection in Lebane and Leskovac

"Children in need are the most important part of our society. A society is judged by the way it treats its most vulnerable citizens. That's why I am glad to see that this Day Care Centre is finished and I will visit it again when the children are here. This is Europe, this is the European Union in Serbia", said Nicola Bertolini and thanked the municipality of Lebane and UNOPS for the successful implementation of the project. Bertolini emphasised that Lebane is an example of how European funds are spent efficiently and for the benefit of its citizens.

During the project, implemented within the EU PRO Plus programme, didactic equipment for working with children was procured, the kitchen was equipped, furniture was purchased, while the toilets were renovated so that they are adapted for people with disabilities.

"With a grant from the European Union of 138,000 Euros, we renovated and expanded this building, and now it is up to us and the Centre for Social Work to secure the necessary licences for the provision of daycare services. The Municipality of Lebane could not have completed it in such a short period of time alone, but that's why we had the technical documentation ready and received the support of the EU", said Ivan Bogdanović, Mayor of Lebane.

After Lebane, the Head of Cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union visited Leskovac where together with the Mayor Goran Cvetanović saw the central wastewater treatment plant in the village of Bogojevce, which construction was supported by the European Union with more than ten million euros.

"This is a large ecological project that, in cooperation with the City and the state, was financially supported by the European Union. Such a large investment in Leskovac as one of the largest local self-governments in the south is a good indicator of the potential that municipalities in the south can implement large projects", said Nicola Bertolini.

"The City of Leskovac, like the south of Serbia, is facing a great challenge, which is the departure of young people, and that's why every project that deals with this issue and helps to solve it is a project that the EU wants to support”, said Bertolini.

The Mayor of Leskovac, Goran Cvetanović, reminded of the significant support of the European Union for financing the construction of the first phase of the wastewater treatment plant - Water Line, and announced that the third phase of the Wastewater Management project of the city of Leskovac will soon begin through the ORIO programme, which, together with the Government of Serbia investment of 10 million Euros is also supported by the Kingdom of the Netherlands with eight million Euros.

The Mayor thanked Nicola Bertolini for his visit to Leskovac and the Jablanica and Pčinja  districts and stated that the city implements numerous projects with the European Union funds such as energy renovation of schools, projects related to tourism, ecology.

"At the moment, we are implementing the projects related to the energy rehabilitation of the Primary School in Guberevac with an investment of 172,000 Euros, and the project of arranging the Sokolica viewpoint near the town of Skobaljić with around 200,000 Euros," said Mayor Cvetanović.