Press Release: EU approves €100 million in budget support for Serbia and an €85 million financial crisis package for the Western Balkans and Turkey

On 31 July, 2009, the European Commission granted €100 million to Serbia as general budget support to help with the stabilisation of the country and ease the economic and social consequences of the crisis. The Commission also approved a substantial package to assist acceding countries to tackle the current economic difficulties. The €85 million grant finance from the European Commission was part of the overall Crisis Response Package for the Western Balkans that should total €150 million in Commission grants and €600 million in loans from partner International Financial Institutions, such as the European Investment Bank and the EBRD. The financial crisis response package for Bosnia and Herzegovina for a total amount of EUR 39 million will be adopted in the coming days.