Head of the Cooperation of the EU Delegation, Nicola Bertolini visited Novi Pazar, Raška, Užice and Sjenica

"Local self-governments and local communities are very important in the process of European integration, and my visit signals a new level of cooperation and identify potential projects in Novi Pazar and surrounding municipalities," said Bertolini and added that the City like other municipalities in Serbia should continue to work hard to create jobs and opportunities for young people to stay. 

"We talked about the projects that EU supported in Novi Pazar so far, and about new concrete projects that the City has to offer” said Anela Halilović Šemsović, President of the Assembly of Novi Pazar and pointed out that the City is a serious partner for cooperation. “We underlined the priorities as well as the advantages of Novi Pazar for potential investments and cooperation.", concluded Halilović Šemsović.

In Novi Pazar, Bertolini also visited the ambulance building, which has been in operation since 2018, the construction of which was supported by the EU with 680,000 Euros in order to improve the quality of health services, as well as the working conditions of the medical staff.

Head of the Cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia, Nicola  Bertolini  started his visit to the western part of the country on 12 October in Užice, where after a meeting with the Mayor, Jelena Raković Radivojević, he visited the projects supported by the EU in the city.

"Užice is very similar to cities in the European Union. The needs of this and surrounding local self-governments relate to health, air pollution and keeping young people here - and these are important priorities that we will continue to support," said Bertolini, adding that he had the opportunity to see how European funds contribute to the development of the city. "A City that invests in young people, includes its residents in its decisions and coordinates its work with neighboring municipalities deserves to be part of the European Union," said Bertolini.

The Head of the Cooperation Department of the EU Delegation with the Užice Mayor visited the Dispensary for Lung Diseases and Tuberculosis, whose reconstruction will soon begin with the financial support of the European Union of close to 180,000 Euros. The project envisages a complete reconstruction of the 900 m² building, constructed in the 1960, in order to provide substantially better conditions for the provision of health care to the population.

The Mayor of Užice, Jelena Raković Radivojević, stated that the city is currently implementing two important infrastructure projects with the support of the EU - the Antituberculosis Dispensary and the construction of the first village kindergarten in Karan. 

"The city is working intensively on the realisation of all ongoing projects, but also on the preparation of project and technical documentation for new projects that will be presented to the citizens of Užice. As a local self-government, and the same goes to other local governments in Serbia, we have to be ready for the membership of our country in the European Union", concluded the Užice Mayor.

In Užice, Bertolini also visited the regional sanitary landfill Duboko, which has been operating successfully since 2011 with the support of the EU and covers nine local self-governments with 350,000 inhabitants. As part of the Cross-Border Cooperation Program Serbia - Bosnia and Herzegovina, the European Union supported the operation of the landfill through three projects purchasing the necessary heavy machinery and equipment with a total value of 1.6 million Euros. 

In Sjenica, the Head of the Cooperation of the EU Delegation met with the Mayor Munib Mujagić, and then visited the "Maslačak" kindergarten that was constructed the EU helped with almost 150,000 Euros, while the municipality of Sjenica participated in the amount of 68,000 Euros. The new kindergarten in Sjenica accommodates 195 children, which has significantly improved the capacities of the existing facility.

"The European Union will continue to support practical projects such as this new kindergarten, which we helped together with other donors in order to ensure that children have a place to stay and allow parents to work. The objective of our support is to contribute young people in Sjenica to remain to live and work here", said the head of the cooperation department of the EU Delegation

"The support of the EU in improving the quality of life in Sjenica has been significant in the previous period, which is also shown by the kindergarten we visited," said the president of the municipality of Sjenica, Munib Mujagić, underlining that such successful cooperation will continue.