The railway project from Belgrade to the Hungarian border, primarily funded by China, also received some European Union (EU) involvement. However, the EU’s participation is now under investigation due to potential misuse of funds.
Laura Koveši, a European prosecutor, is leading the investigation in Serbia, focusing on possible misuse of EU funds allocated for the project. This investigation does not concern the tragic incident where the canopy at Novi Sad’s train station collapsed, resulting in 15 fatalities, but rather the financial aspects of the EU’s contribution.
According to the Ministry of European Integration and the EU Delegation in Serbia, the EU did not directly fund the construction or reconstruction of the railway or station. However, the EU did contribute significant funding for earlier stages of the project, including feasibility studies, environmental impact assessments, and preliminary projects for the Novi Sad to Subotica section in 2009-2011, totaling around 5.06 million euros. The EU also financed the reconstruction of the Žeželj Bridge, which was part of the Belgrade-Novi Sad railway, with 40 million euros, while the total investment was around 60 million euros.
The investigation is based on a report from a private individual and is specifically looking into loans from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the railway reconstruction.
