Under the motto “Rebuilding together”, the European Commission will host a donors’ conference in Brussels on 16 July to mobilise further support to Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the aftermath of the recent floods. The aim of the conference will be to collect pledges from donors for the countries’ recovery. The conference will also contribute to stepping up co-operation over floods and natural disasters in the region, as well as operational coordination. The conference is co-organised with France and Slovenia.
Three short movies about the dramatic floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia as well as the international response will be shown before opening remarks by the Enlargement Commissioner Štefan Füle, Slovenian Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek and French Minister Laurent Fabius. Chairman of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic and Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić are expected to deliver key note speeches before the presentation of needs of the two countries and pledging session. European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Kristalina Georgieva is planned to close the conference.
Background
International donor countries, international financial institutions, and main relevant civil society organisations are invited. The European Commission, France and Slovenia place high priority on the economic recovery of both countries.
The Conference is by invitation only and is a meeting of donor governments and international organisations.
While it is not open to the public, information about the meeting will be made available on the following website: http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/news_corner/floods/index_en.htm.
Opening of the Conference starting at 14:45hrs, welcome remarks and keynote speeches can be viewed on: http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/ebs/live.cfm?page=2&sitelang=en
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