In at least 150 locations across Serbia, mines and other unexploded ordnance can still be found, posing a risk to people’s lives.

Did you know that the Republic of Serbia has a Mine Action Centre? Recently, the experts of the Centre, talking to Euronews Serbia, explained that they have cleared an area of over 11.5 million square meters of cluster munitions. But there is still work to be done. For example, mines are still present in over 850,000 square meters in the municipality of Bujanovac, in southern Serbia.

In cooperation with the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia, the European Union (EU) has launched a project that provides financial and professional support for removing explosive devices in that area.

A press release from the Ministry states that this action “strengthens the capacity for demining and destruction of unexploded ordnance in accordance with the highest international standards, which contributes to progress in the field of human rights.”

The EU provides financial support, modern work and protective equipment and support for training and professional development for demining, the Ministry of Defence of Serbia announced.

In fact, clearing mines in Serbia is not a new topic – the European Union has allocated millions of euros in grants for this activity, through several projects.

Issues surrounding unexploded ordnance are not exclusive to land. Captains of ships sailing on the Danube through Serbia encounter these problems, too, making stops every time they pass by Prahova, a town near the Serbia-Romania border.

Although it is one of the widest rivers in Europe, the waterway in this part of the Danube narrows down to 50 meters, turning this European river “highway” into a one-way street, where ships from opposite directions take turns passing each other by.

It takes anywhere from 30 minutes to four hours for the ships to pass each other by there, says the president of the Association of Captains of Inland Navigation of Serbia, Srećko Nikolić.

The cause for this river traffic jam is the shipwrecks sunk during the withdrawal of German troops before the end of World War II (1944) when 23 ships were left on the river bottom. The most critical are four shipwrecks containing unexploded ordnance, bombs, and mines.

The EU provided about 15 million euros in grants, while the rest of the money for this activity was provided by a loan from the European Investment Bank.

Fear for safety and adverse environmental impact is only a fragment of this issue, which also has an economic dimension. According to an earlier statement by former Minister of Infrastructure, Zorana Mihajlović, Serbia loses up to five million euros a year due to the unresolved situation near Prahovo, in the country’s east.

Because the Danube is located on the Pan-European Corridor, this project’s realisation would significantly increase the speed and efficiency of transporting the goods to EU countries, which is important for the economy.

Apart from assistance on the ground, EU support for safe demining also includes expert training. In late 2021, ten instructors received internationally recognised certificates in conducting demining training as part of an EU project worth €600.000.

“The project strengthens the cooperation from the perspective of the Common Security and Defence Policy and Serbia’s harmonisation with international standards in the field of demining. Serbia is a valuable partner of the EU in the field of security and defence policy,” EU Ambassador to Serbia, Emanuele Giaufret, said at the time.

“Serbia is contaminated with mines from various periods of history, endangering the safety of citizens. This is the first time that we have reached such a high level of training of our deminers. We thank the EU for its support with the floods, the epidemics, and now in this domain, which is beneficial for the citizens of Serbia,” said the acting Assistant Minister of Defence, Predrag Bandić.

The problems surrounding humanitarian demining in Serbia are numerous and the solution “depends on funding,” according to the website of the Mine Action Centre, which also publishes an up-to-date overview of the highly critical points in Serbia.

According to the data compiled by international organisations, between 15,000 and 20,000 people worldwide die due to mine and other ordnance explosions each year; more than 80% of the victims are civilians, and mines pose a threat for years, and even decades after the conflict, as per the United Nations.