January 31^st

In June Niš will be hosting this year’s biggest children’s music festival -Serbia in the rhythm of Europe. Nis high school students who won last year at this biggest festival representing Turkey would bring competitors from 22 cities from Serbia. The representatives of the cities from Serbia will represent 22 European countries and sing songs in the language of the country they represent. Nis, as the host of the festival, will represent Serbia and the team from Nis will sing in Serbian language.

The contract between the organizer of the children’s festival and Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic was signed today at Nis City Hall. On this occasion Mazor Bulatovic expressed his gratitude for the exceptional reception that the Turkish ambassador organized for the Nis team. “The procedures are such that the city who wins at the competition is the host of the next one. So this year we will be the host of this important children’s festival which will also promote our city, our young people, European values. We will try to be good hosts,” said Mayor Bulatovic on this occasion.

“The children of the host city sing for Serbia and sing in the Serbian language. If Nis wins again, the city will receive 50% of the total net SMS income, and as the city winner it can receive free stage lights and sound system and free TV broadcast”, said Mr. Igor Karadarevic, the organizer of the festival. He added that the ambassadors of the 22 countries of the European Union, who have been supporting Serbia in the Rhythm of Europe Festival for 10 years, give additional value to this competition”. The jury, as before, will be composed of representatives of town competitors in a live television program. The votes by jury constitute the half of the total votes while the rest is gathered via text messages.

January 31^st

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, prof. Dr. Zorana Mihajlovic, today spoke with EIB Vice-president Dario Scannapieco about current and new infrastructure projects implemented with the support of the EIB. The meeting, held in the Government of the Republic of Serbia, was attended by Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic. Vice President Mihajlovic at the meeting thanked Scannapieco for good cooperation with the EIB on important infrastructure projects that, primarily in the field of road and railway infrastructure.

At a press conference in Belgrade at the end of a two-day official visit to Serbia, EIB Vice-President Dario Scannapieco presented last year’s results in Serbia and the Western Balkans, as well as the 2018 objectives and strategy under the Economic Resilience Initiative (ERI).

At the same event, the loan in the amount of EUR 134m for Railway Nis-Dimitrovgrad was signed. The Railway Nis-Dimitrovgrad project encompasses the reconstruction, modernisation and electrification of the existing Nis-Dimitrovgrad railway line and the construction of a railway bypass around Nis, in Serbia. By facilitating rail transport, the project falls under the Connectivity Agenda of the Berlin Process. It will contribute to the competitiveness of the country’s economy and will increase the quality and availability of rail services in Serbia, also contributing to the modal shift from road to rail. The EIB financing for this project is blended with EU funding under the EU-sponsored 2015 Connectivity Agenda.