BRUSSELS -- The European Commission, together with Slovenia and France, is hosting an international donors conference in Brussels on July 16 to support Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia after devastating floods in May.
There is hope that the conference, which will be attended by several countries as well as international financial institutions, might generate more than 200 million euros. Damages were estimated at some 3.5 billion euros.
The floods were described as the worst to hit the region in a century, with more than 70,000 displaced people in both countries.
At the time, the EU released 3 million euros in direct humanitarian aid and another 62 million euros became available at the end of June to support public infrastructure, such as schools and social-care services, as well as basic equipment for enterprises and farms to restart their activities.
Twenty-three EU member states deployed more than 800 relief workers and contributed equipment such as motor boats, helicopters, and pumps during the floods.