The river Obnica, a tributary of Kolubara, caused great damage in Valjevo, during the great floods in 2014. Although European Union (EU) assistance to Serbia has continuously arrived before, these floods have fueled a series of projects during which coastal fortifications, bridges, rehabilitated riverbeds and other flood prevention measures have been implemented.
In the last six years, the EU has set aside more than 170 million euros for flood prevention, as well as for recovery and rehabilitation, and Valjevo is only one of the cities that has benefited from that money. The rivers Kolubara, Obnica and Jablanica are protected from floods in the total length of six kilometers.
Reconstruction of the coastal fortification in Valjevo is one of the most demanding endeavors in this sector, they said from Srbija Waters. The real test was in June this year, when the entire facility withstood the flood without any consequences, and the water flow was almost at the maximum level. All this led to the fact that Valjevo is probably one of the most protected cities.
In order to mark the completion of the works, the head of the European Union Delegation to Serbia, Ambassador Sam Fabrizi, the director of the Austrian Cultural Center Adrian Fikes on behalf of the country's embassy, as well as the mayor of Valjevo Lazar Gojkovic, the director of Serbia Water Goran Puzovic and the director of the Office for Public Investment Management Marko Blagojević. near the Veselinovic bridge.
"I am glad to be in this city again. Last month, I was in Valjevo to meet with medical staff hired by the EU to fight Covid in Serbia. On that occasion, I promised the mayor that I would come again, to mark the end of the project to protect the citizens of Valjevo from floods. "
The ambassador also reminded of the great floods in 2014, when the EU also showed solidarity for recovery from the consequences of the flood. At that time, 50 municipalities in Serbia and 1.5 million people were affected by this catastrophe.
Fikes said that the lesson from 2014 is that everyone must be prepared for natural disasters
"Prevention is better than cure is the slogan for future times. We must protect ourselves from nature, but also protect nature from us. We also planted trees here today because air protection is something we have to work on," he said.
Blagojevic also warns of climate change as a new normality. "We owe a great deal of gratitude to the EU for the non-refundable funds, 170 million, that is a huge amount of money for us. We also owe our gratitude for flexibility, which is crucial. This river, which can now be crossed, and its tributaries caused damage of one billion euros in Serbia in 2014. These floods are a call to wake up, we cannot and must not forget them," Blagojevic concluded.
Puzovic says that due to investments and works, Valjevo is now a safer city. The mayor of that city thanked the citizens of the EU for the significant funds.
The EU has invested a total of 19 million euros in the flood rehabilitation and prevention project alone, while the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) has donated another half a million euros. With this money, the necessary works were performed in Obrenovac, Surčin, Valjevo, Paraćin, Svilajnac… Prevention and readiness are the basic ideas for reducing the risk of disasters.
After visiting the bridge by the Obnica River, Ambassador Fabrizi and other participants in the central city park planted several saplings of the tree, as a symbolic sign of friendship. Also, planting trees is a reminder of the fight against climate change. The guests then toured the pedestrian bridge over the river Kolubara, on which a mural was painted - a reminder to the citizens of Valjevo of their friendship with the European Union.