SWITZERLAND AND THE EU DONATED A GARBAGE TRUCK TO PRESEVO

22. February 2016.

A new truck for the collecting garbage, which was funded by the European Union and the Government of Switzerland, through the European Progress program, was handed over to public utility company "Moravica" from Presevo. The handover ceremony took place in front of the Reception Centre for Refugees and Migrants.

The truck was handed over to Ragmi Mustafa, the Mayor of Presevo, by Isabel Perich, the Director of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in Serbia, and by Richard Masa, the Head of Operations III of the EU Delegation to Serbia. The donation is worth 70,000 euros.

On that occasion, Ms. Perich noted that Serbia had set an example in the region because of the efficiency and humanity with which it had been looking after the refugees and migrants. She particularly commended the efforts that the Presevo Municipality had made and the genuine solidarity of the Presevo residents.

The goal, as Mr. Masa said, was to reduce the pressure on the local utility companies and to help the local self-government respond to the consequences of the migrant crisis.

“The European Union has been continuously supporting the Government of the Republic of Serbia, as well as the small non-government organizations devotedly working in the field and assisting the migrants and refugees on their long and tiring journey,” said Mr. Richard Masa, the Head of Operations III of the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia.

Ragmi Mustafa, the Mayor of Presevo, thanked the European Union and the Swiss Government for being the first to recognize the needs of the local self-governments in view of the recent developments.

“The donation of the garbage truck is extremely important for the municipality, because it will help us maintain a satisfactory degree of cleanliness in the municipality and the Reception Centre,” Mr. Mustafa said.

Over the last six months, the European Union, through the European Progress program, donated over 20 million euros, while the Swiss Government earmarked one million Swiss francs to help Serbia deal with the large inflow of migrants.

Source: Jugpress, European Progress and Coordination Body