Serbia asks EU to extend IPARD farm fund spending deadline

Agriculture Minister Elena Tanasković has requested the European Commission to extend the spending deadline for the IPARD farm fund to ensure €30 million in grants for Serbian farmers do not remain unused.

Extending the deadline by one year would allow Serbia to fully use the remaining €158.5 million from the IPARD 2 programme, said Tanasković after meeting European Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Vojcehovski in Brussels on Thursday.

Serbia has spent €42 million, and another €80 million is set to be spent by the end of 2023.

“If we don’t get an extension, the rest of the funds will be unused, which I consider a great loss, first of all for Serbian farmers,” said Tanasković.

Serbia’s Agriculture Ministry pointed out that the European Commission showed its willingness to respond positively to Serbia’s request for a one-year extension so that farmers could use the funds the European Union donated to Serbia.

(EURACTIV.rs I Bojana Zimonjić Jelisavac)