EU grants euro100 million in budget aid for Serbia
July 31, 2009 11:27 AM ET <http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/provider.aspx?feed=AP> Associated PressAll Associated Press news <http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/provider.aspx?feed=AP> BRUSSELS (AP) - The European Union granted Serbia euro100 million ($141.4 million) in budget support Friday to enable Belgrade to maintain economic reforms during its recession. The European Commission said the money will help offset high social costs caused by the recession that has punctured big holes in Serbia's budget. Olli Rehn, the EU's enlargement affairs commissioner, said the money "will help Serbia pursue reforms ... which, during the current crisis, may otherwise have been postponed." Serbia hopes to join the EU. But its prospects are hampered by a perceived lack of enthusiasm to arrest all those charged with crimes committed during the Balkan Wars of the 1990s. The European Commission also approved euro85 million in a recession aid package to be shared between Croatia, Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo and Turkey. That aid is part of an overall package of euro150 million in EU grants and euro600 million in loans from international lenders to prevent investments from drying up and to finance banking reforms. "European businesses have generated growth and employment in the Western Balkans and Turkey," Rehn said. "Preserving the region's economic and financial stability in times of crisis is therefore a key interest for the European Union." Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&date=20090731&id=10207301
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