Speaking at the International Review Conference on the progress made in the implementation of the results of the Brussels Donors’ Conference for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia after the floods, the Head of the Delegation of the EU to Bosnia and Herzegovina/EU Special Representative Ambassador Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, said:

“Minister Borovac, Director Blagojević, distinguished guests, dear friends and colleagues:

“On behalf of the European Union, and speaking not just for myself but also on behalf of Michael Davenport in Belgrade, it is my pleasure to join you at this conference.  Let me first of all, in the name of the EU, thank the authorities of both countries for hosting and organising this event, and all of you for taking the time to be here this morning.

We’re gathering here, over a year after the May 2014 floods, to review the recovery efforts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia. Of course we all remember very well the flooding and the devastating effects – affecting families, homes, businesses, schools and public services. The fact that we are here, still dealing with those consequences shows the impact of this unprecedented natural disaster and in general how little we know what’s going to happen next.

Sadly, however, as a consequence of climate change in particular, these kinds of natural disasters will become more frequent, more devastating and more violent.

That’s why I think that this conference should not only try to track and analyse the progress that has been achieved given the many pledges from donors made in July last year, we should also look at how we can take preventive action so to prevent future disasters from having such devastating effects. We cannot prevent disasters from occurring of course, but we can become better at dealing with them.

At the Donors’ Conference in Brussels last July “Rebuilding together”, organised also with France and Slovenia, the EU pledged close to 200 million Euros in total for both Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The aim, as articulated by the then Commissioner for Enlargement Mr Füle, was to help the people of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to rebuild after the damage caused by the floods, rehouse people who had been exposed to the flooding, rebuild communities and reconnect key infrastructure.  Quite a tall order.

The most important objective however was to help the most vulnerable people to overcome the effects of the floods. I think we have kept our promise!

The Programmes supported by the European Union are a good example of how effective assistance can be delivered. Let me start with Bosnia and Herzegovina:

• Close to 9,000 people – 8,750 to be exact – have returned home already. Another 2,000 families will be returned by the end of this year.
•  104 schools and kindergartens were rehabilitated and equipped, to the benefit of 46,000 children, students and teachers.
• Importantly we have also supported 56 small and medium-sized enterprises here in BiH, through that we have contributed to retaining and generating of more than 2000 jobs.

Overall we produced results for over half a million people in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Much of the construction that has been going on has included many measures to ‘build back better’. This makes buildings more resilient in case of future floods. But it makes a school better than it was before, it makes a hospital better than it was before. This has been an opportunity to improve the overall standard in many respects.

In Serbia:

• The EU and its partners helped ensure that there was no flood-related disease and we helped over 23,000 small farmers and over 1,000 families whose homes were destroyed.
• 14 public facilities, including kindergartens, elementary schools and high-schools, enabling more than 13,000 children, students and teachers to continue their work.
• The number of employees in the supported SMEs increased from close to 300 to close to 600 – a doubling again.

These programmes represent the first package of assistance pledged by the EU at the Donors’ Conference “Rebuilding together” – 42 million Euro for Bosnia and 30 million Euro for Serbia. These are the largest EU programmes ever funded in the region and were mobilised in record time soon after the floods.

Our support does not end here. Our joint goal for the future is to avoid that similar or other disasters cause such devastation: to human beings, the environment, our cultural heritage, but also to communities and to economic activities.

So we will soon mobilise a significant amount of EU funds – EUR 41 mln for BiH and EUR 62 mln for Serbia – to further support flood recovery and flood risk management. This is the second package pledged by the EU at the Donors’ Conference “Rebuilding together”.

It’s important looking at all these numbers not to lose sight of the strategic implications.

It is in every country’s interests to adopt and implement sound flood prevention policies, to work together against climate change, to continue to protect our rivers, including first defences, and to reinforce emergency capabilities. We cannot prevent the water from flowing across borders.

The BiH Action Plan for flood protection and river management 2014-2017 adopted in January this year is a success story in this regard and I would like to commend BiH for this actions plan. We now need to move swiftly to implementation, further investing in capacities and expertise, bringing flood protection projects to full maturity.

BiH and Serbia share the same river basin and these rivers pass through several countries in this region. The International Sava and Danube Rivers Commissions have been valuable partners in the past months. The message of the EU to both BiH and Serbia today is to encourage you to continue working very closely with these institutions and with your neighbours in the region.

The EU Floods Directive provides an important framework for assessing and managing flood risks. In the whole region, efforts must be made to further align the legislative frameworks to this fundamental Directive.

Later today the European Commission will present the findings of a Gap Analysis Study.  This regional Study identified a number of structural and non-structural measures that can further support flood protection and prevention in the context of implementing this Directive.

Lastly, on the global level, 2015 is a decisive year for international climate negotiations. Ahead of the conference on climate change organised in Paris in November, the EU is fully committed to doing its part and it counts on the continued cooperation and collaboration of all its international partners, particularly Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia who have recently experienced the effects of climate change.

We do recognise that these are all big challenges for BiH and Serbian authorities. The EU is doing and will continue to do all we can to be an active partner to BiH and Serbia and to their people.

The will and the commitment to achieve these goals must come from the countries in the first place. It requires full ownership and responsibility. In the end to be successful this must be a collective effort, and we can only succeed if everyone plays their part.

We must continue to ensure that work continues to build resilience and preparedness in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, as well as in the whole region. We hope that we can use the outcomes of today’s conference not just to renew our mutual commitments to sustainable and durable progress in this area but to think about how to prevent disasters from having such effects again.

I look forward to your presentations and thank you for your attention.