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EU ambassador Soreca visited the Jablanica area affected by floods and landslides, announced European Union aid

by AI | 09.Oct 2024 | Europe in brief AI

The Head of the EU Delegation in BiH, Luigi Soreca, visited the area of Jablanica and confirmed that the EU will continue to provide assistance in dealing with the consequences of floods and landslides. Teams from several countries are already on the ground, searching for the missing and helping with recovery. The EU has also sent emergency supplies and promised long-term support to Bosnia and Herzegovina through civil protection mechanisms.

Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation and special representative of the EU in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Luigi Soreca, visiting Jablanica (Photo: FENA/Harun Muminović)

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Jablanica (Fena) – Head of the Delegation of the European Union (EU) and the EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Luigi Soreca visited the area of the city of Jablanica where he confirmed that the European Union will continue to help BiH in mitigating the aftermath of flash floods, landslides, and other disasters that have affected the area of northern Herzegovina and Central Bosnia. 

In the delegation that visited the Jablanica area, besides Soreca, were EUFOR commander Major General László Sticz, Croatian Ambassador to BiH Ivan Sabolich, and Slovenian Ambassador to BiH Damjan Sedar, who toured the affected areas and had a meeting with the mayor of Jablanica Damir Šabanović.

– Regarding aid, it’s too early to speak about it. Aid has already arrived, what we have, we have had from the first moment when we saw what happened and what kind of disaster it was. All our neighbors, municipalities and cities from BiH, all levels of government, all the people from neighboring countries offered help. The image of Jablanica from before and the image of today is totally different. We also talked about the coordination mechanism, the members said they are here for us today, that they will be here tomorrow, and as long as the situation doesn’t return to a certain level of normal – said the mayor of Jablanica, Damir Šabanović.

The Head of the EU Delegation and the EU Special Representative in BiH, Luigi Soreca, emphasized that the citizens of Jablanica and the broader area at this moment of tragedy are not alone.

– The mayor explained to us that rescue and search are still the most urgent issue, it’s important that rescue teams from here, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, and Serbia are still actively searching for people and trying to save lives, and that is currently the priority – Soreca said.

He emphasized that from Saturday evening, when BiH activated the assistance mechanism (EU Civil Protection), teams came to help at the same moment.

– That itself sends a message that when we are together, we are stronger, we avoid “duplication” and use resources where we need them. That is the essence of EU Civil Protection – Soreca believes.

He promised further aid from the European Union in this difficult situation.

– Once again, the EU will be with the community, long-term we will demonstrate solidarity, once the damage is assessed we will be able to activate other resources to ensure BiH benefits from this. We always say that BiH is at the heart of Europe, and today we can see that Europe has come to the heart of Bosnia and Herzegovina to help things get better as soon as possible – Soreca concluded.

Following a request for aid by Bosnia and Herzegovina on October 5, the European Union sent search and rescue teams and delivered emergency supplies to support the initial responses to the floods and landslides.

A total of twelve countries have offered assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

Search and rescue teams from Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, and Serbia were already deployed during the weekend. They searched for missing persons and cleared debris to help restore vital infrastructure.

In addition, the EU mobilized emergency supplies, such as shelter items, from Albania, Hungary, Montenegro, Romania, and Turkey. (9.10.2024.)

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