Since October 2000, France has devoted considerable efforts to its cooperation with Serbia (at that time still the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia): budget support, emergency intervention and loans from the Priority Solidarity Fund (FSP) of several million euro, in order to launch renewed cooperation in sectors deemed to be strategic: institutional cooperation (public administration, justice), developing independent media, overhauling the education system and public health, and the reform of higher education.

In addition to the European funds mobilised through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA), our cooperation is based on the presence of French technical assistants, placed with local authorities to provide directly the expertise needed to build the administrative capacity of Serbia’s institutions, an essential preliminary to meeting EU accession criteria.
Key elements of our cooperation are plans to revitalise the role of French in the education system, develop exchanges between universities, provide training in cultural professions (the French Cultural Centre, located right in the heart of the capital, plays an essential role on Belgrade’s cultural scene) and promote joint research programmes between scientific laboratories. Plans to open a Franco-Serbian high school in Belgrade offering 700 places in Belgrade are currently under consideration.

^{Updated on 05.04.13}