New waste water treatment plant opened in Subotica on the World Water Day 2012

A new waste water treatment plant worth EUR 18 million, of which the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia donated EUR 5 million, was opened in Subotica on the World Water Day. Our main goal is to improve the quality of living of Serbian citizens, Ambassador Degert said.

"So far we have invested about 400 million euros in different projects in Serbia, and our main goal is to improve the quality of living of the citizens in this country. There is a lot of work ahead of us, but I am confident that by working together we will succeed in the end, Ambassador Degert said.

Degert reminded that the Delegation, in cooperation with the responsible Ministry, was funding the construction of similar plants in Leskovac, Šabac and Vrbas, and that the cooperation included other areas as well.

Europe is "blessed" in terms of availability of drinking water, Degert said, and reminded that drinking water was inaccessible for more than 2 billion people in the world, with 4,000 people dying every day because of this problem.

Half the funding for the EUR 18 million worth project in Subotica comes from an EBRD loan, EUR 5 million was donated be the EU through the Delegation, while the City of Subotica contributed EUR 3 million from its own sources. This project was also financially supported by the governments of Italy and the Netherlands and by the Public Company Vode Vojvodine.

Serbian Minister of Environment Oliver Dulić thanked the EU and European citizens for the support which is, in his words, crucial for the implementation of many capital and very important projects in Serbia.

Serbia is now on a good path to solving all its large environmental issues in accordance with the European standards, but we do not have enough resources to shape our lives according to the standards of the civilized world. We also lack endogenous potentials to take the necessary steps in order to improve the standard of living for our people in the field of environmental protection but also in the entire national economy, Dulić said. 

President of the Government of AP Vojvodina Bojan Pajtić said that the construction of the waste water treatment plant in Subotica represented a practical example of European integration.

This concrete example shows the importance of cooperation with the EU, the significance of European integration and how reliable partner the European Union is in the implementation of projects in the best interest of all Serbian citizens, Pajtić highlighted.