The European Commission so far has given assistance to Macedonia to build the capacities in the country in various fields, including building the capacity of relevant ministries and border guards for better border management, all key issues in the area for asylum and migrants, says the spokeswoman of the European Commission Maja Kocijancic to “Nova” regarding allegations that the country has not received any support from the European Union.
“Since the beginning of the crisis, the EC also provided additional humanitarian aid for the country not to bear the costs alone. We have given support for the country in terms of activities with migrants and asylum seekers, in border management which comes up to nearly nearly 50 million euros. Since the beginning of the refugee crisis last summer, the European Commission has given Macedonia 16 million euros for improving its system of border and migration management, specifically for the refugee crisis”, said Kocijancic.
The spokeswoman for the European Commission said that the rules on how the European Union spends taxpayers’ money are extremely strict.
“We, the EU do not just transfer money to Government’s bank accounts, we support or finance equipment and activities based on specific needs. Macedonia since 2007 has received an overall of 900 million euros in aid from the EU”, added Kocijancic.
The European Commission’s quick and stern reaction comes after President Gjorgi Ivanov did an interview with the German newspaper “Bild” where he had harsh criticism for Berlin and Brussels on Macedonia’s situation because of the refugee crisis.
“We have already spent 25 million euros of our taxpayers money and declared a State of Emergency. What did we get from Europe? Nothing! Not one cent! Now, even as a country which is not an EU member, we have to protect Europe from an EU member, namely Greece”, Ivanov said in the interview with “Bild”.
