Skip to main content

Author: WeBalkans

Construction of a wastewater treatment plant in Podgorica gets underway

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

On 10 June, a contract was signed for the construction of a wastewater treatment plant in Podgorica. The construction of a wastewater treatment plant is the largest infrastructure project in the history of Podgorica. Both in financial and construction terms, this contract officially marks the beginning of the most demanding phase of the comprehensive investment project: actual construction of the plant and the installation of the modern equipment for sewage treatment.

 

The complete project will include the building of a new wastewater treatment plant for the city, as well as a sludge incineration plant, and extension of the sewerage network. The investments will make possible the collection and treatment of the wastewater generated by the city in line with EU standards.

 

The project started in 2009 when a feasibility study was prepared with the support of technical assistance from the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF). WBIF support continued through technical assistance and investment grants, which enabled this project to finance and implement components including the construction of the primary collector, the primary sewerage network and other hydro-technical infrastructure.

 

For the overall investment project, the EU provided €22.9 million and bilateral donors an additional €9.9 million in grants through the WBIF. This was complemented by a KfW Development Bank loan of more than €35 million and a beneficiary contribution of around €7.5 million.

Final conference of Western Balkans Youth Lab project

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

An event titled “UNMUTE: A region fit for YOU(th)”, organised by the Regional Cooperation Council’s Western Balkans Youth Lab Project gathered more than 40 young people and policymakers from the entire region. They presented their activities and solutions for the issues faced by young people in employment, for those not in employment, education or training. The event also marked the successful finalisation of the Youth Lab project managed by Regional Cooperation Council (RCC).  
“Our journey was more than a science project – it is real and it produced results that will genuinely transform the way things are being done: the Youth Lab project put forward 11 recommendations, built capacity through its training, and developed solutions. Generation of 2020 – 2022 – kudos to you! You are the icebreakers! You have proved that a process which was experimental – aiming to place young people at the table with policymakers to create better, youth-centred policies – works. Not only did you prove it can be done, you also paved the way for the pool of experts in the second Youth Policy Lab on Mental Health,” concluded Ognjen Marković, Team Leader of RCC’s Western Balkans Youth Lab.

Public opinion poll shows a strong support for the EU in Montenegro

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

Montenegro’s membership of the European Union continues to be supported by the great majority of citizens, who have a positive attitude towards the community and would vote in a potential referendum for Montenegro to become its next Member State. This was once again confirmed by a public opinion poll conducted by the DeFacto Consultancy for the European Union and the Government of Montenegro in May. They surveyed citizens on attitudes to EU integration and the EU accession process, polling a representative sample of 1,008 respondents across the country.

 

The strong support for the European idea, translated into figures, shows that 76% of citizens have a positive attitude towards the European Union, and an almost equal number (74.6%) support Montenegro’s accession to the European Union. If a referendum were held tomorrow, almost 90% of voters would go to the polls, of which over four fifths, or 83.5%, would vote for Montenegro to join the European Union.

 

The European Union was recognised by 43% of citizens as the biggest foreign donor in Montenegro, and 39% say that the EU has shown the greatest solidarity with Montenegro in the fight against COVID-19.

YEAs meet the President of the European Council in Kosovo

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

Young European Ambassadors (YEAs) from Kosovo met and had a discussion with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, during his visit to Kosovo. The YEAs presented their network and explained its purpose and their motivations for becoming Young European Ambassadors.

 

Following the initial presentation, the discussion moved on to regional and global issues such as the recent conflict in Ukraine and the importance of peace. In the final part of the discussion, YEAs raised the topic of freedom of movement for youth from the Western Balkans and agreed with the President on the importance of programmes such as ERASMUS+ and other EU-funded initiatives and programmes for further personal and professional development of young people in the Western Balkans.

 

The YEA platform is a creative network of young activists from across the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia). YEAs come from different backgrounds, yet they all share a common vision: the Western Balkans united in diversity. They learn about each other and the EU together, pursue creative projects, acquire new skills, connect via social media, and organise inspiring events – always driven by the idea that activism in youth is the most powerful force of social change.

 

The aims of the network are: to share EU values; to raise awareness about the EU’s cooperation with its Western Balkan partners; to showcase the tangible results of this cooperation; to contribute to policy dialogue on various topics; and to help increase civic activism.

Second week of YEA Open Days gets underway across the Western Balkans

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

A series of open days promoting the new call for Young European Ambassadors (YEAs) continued last week with YEAs presenting their network in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia.

 

On 9 June, YEAs from Bosnia and Herzegovina hosted the YEA Open Day at Europe House in Sarajevo. In cooperation with the EU Delegation in BIH, the event featured a YEA presentation and a celebration of 35 years of the Erasmus programme but also a lively discussion with Ambassador Johann Sattler. Around 50 young people won prizes at the YEA quiz and had a great time meeting new friends.

 

On 10 June, YEAs from Kosovo hosted the YEA Open Day at Europe House Pristina. On this occasion, YEAs and the EU Delegation organised an open discussion between the EU Ambassador to Kosovo, Tomáš Szunyog, the YEAs and the young people who had gathered.

The week ended with Strumica and Niš Open Days where YEAs met with their peers and invited them to join the network to become the third generation of YEAs.

 

The YEA platform is a creative network of young activists from across the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia). YEAs come from different backgrounds, yet they all share a common vision: the Western Balkans united in diversity. They learn about each other and the EU together, pursue creative projects, acquire new skills, connect via social media, and organise inspiring events – always driven by the idea that activism in youth is the most powerful force of social change.

 

The aims of the network are: to share EU values; to raise awareness about the EU’s cooperation with its Western Balkan partners; to showcase the tangible results of this cooperation; to contribute to policy dialogue on various topics; and to help increase civic activism.

Safeguarding the rights of people on the move

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in Stories.

With the support of the European Union, a Montenegrin NGO has supported migrants with free legal services.

Irfan* is a 30-year-old originally from Morocco but he says of his home country, “Human rights were not being respected, there were no jobs: the economy was weak. Everything was bad!”. He fled Morocco in 2011, first going to Turkey, using a regular flight. He soon had to leave that country and then had his first contact with smugglers. They transferred him to Greece, and then to Albania, until he eventually arrived in Montenegro. “My life was in the hands of smugglers. They could have done anything they wanted with me; I didn’t have any say. I arrived in Montenegro tired of running away and I didn’t have the strength to continue further,” Irfan adds.

Irfan has now been living in Montenegro for over 10 years. Quite soon after arriving, he got a job at a hotel, where he fell in love with a Montenegrin called Jovana*. They are now married and have two beautiful children. In the meantime, Irfan also learned the Montenegrin language and, in many ways, felt fully integrated into the society of his new home. However, this was not the case from the legal point of view. He had the right to apply for Montenegrin citizenship, but due to legal complications and the fact that certain laws are in conflict with each other, he is still unable to exercise that right. In order to solve this problem, he knocked on the door of the Montenegrin NGO Legal Centre, which provides legal aid to foreigners seeking asylum in Montenegro through an EU-funded project called “My Lawyer – Free and Professional Legal Aid for Migrants” in cooperation with Caritas. Now he is receiving legal aid from them on this matter.

“Because the number of migrants who want to stay in Montenegro is small, the government does not have a policy for their integration in terms of education and employment.”

Free legal services for those in need

Luka Kovačević is the Director of the Legal Centre NGO which was founded in 2007 with the aim of supporting displaced persons and refugees from the wars in the former Yugoslavia. Back then, Montenegro did not have even the basic legal infrastructure related to asylum seekers, and no government plan for providing support for asylum-seekers or displaced persons. Luka and his team initially worked on supporting the government in overcoming these obstacles and the government introduced the legal infrastructure that has been in place since then.

However, in the meantime, migrants from other parts of the world started to arrive in Montenegro, and they needed support. According to the statistics of the Legal Centre NGO, over 95% of the refugees in the country are using Montenegro as a transit route, and only a small number of them decide to stay, as most of them aim for countries with better economic prospects. But those who do remain need support. Luka explains that the government does not have much to offer them. “Because the number of migrants who want to stay in Montenegro is small, the government does not have a policy for their integration in terms of education and employment,” he says.

Providing support to these migrants and others who see Montenegro only as a transit route is the reason why Lukas’ NGO launched the EU-funded project “My Lawyer – Free and Professional Legal Aid for Migrants” in cooperation with Caritas.

“We made over 146 field visits: we were in all Montenegrin municipalities, visiting and supporting migrants in formal and informal gathering spots. The migrants we supported last year came from Afghanistan, Algeria, Iran, Morocco, and beyond.”

About the project

The EU-funded project “My Lawyer – Free and Professional Legal Aid for Migrants”, was launched at the beginning of 2020 and ended in July 2021. The total financial value of the project was over €130,000. The project aimed to safeguard the rights of different categories of migrants through the provision of legal aid, information and counselling, humanitarian aid and psychosocial support, as well as working on strengthening the capacities of local civil society organisations and relevant institutions to pursue policies relating to migration management, the integration of foreigners granted international protection and the reintegration of returnees upon readmission.

*Name changed to protect privacy

Through this project, 677 beneficiaries received support, from irregular migrants and people seeking international protection in Montenegro, to returnees returning based on readmission agreements. In addition to free legal aid, 350 humanitarian aid packages were distributed to migrants. “We had over 146 field visits: we were in all Montenegrin municipalities, visiting and supporting migrants in formal and informal gathering spots. The migrants we supported last year came from Afghanistan, Algeria, Iran, Morocco, and beyond,” says Luka

Europeans Making A Difference campaign launched

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

On 10 June, the European External Action Service launched the fourth edition of the “Europeans Making a Difference” campaign at the Italian Cultural Institute in Paris. Within the European Year of Youth, this edition of the “Europeans Making a Difference” campaign portrays young people from the Western Balkans who do things that matter, in the region and far beyond.

 

High Representative/ Vice-President Josep Borrell said: “This campaign gives a platform to people who move boundaries; who inspire and open doors for others. In our work we come across Europeans who make a difference every day. With this campaign, we want to highlight their stories not just because they are good, genuine human stories but also because their stories are not known enough in our EU Member States, and not visible enough in the Western Balkans either.”

   

The launch event presented inspiring young people from the Western Balkans in debate followed by six videos portraying their work.

European collaboration to boost media experimentation and innovation

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

From business consultancies and incubators to hackathons and accelerators, independent media outlets across Europe stand to benefit from a suite of opportunities offered under a bold new initiative designed to stimulate innovation, sustainable business models and collaboration. Launched on 1 June, “Media Innovation Europe: Energising the European Media Ecosystem” is a two-year programme spearheaded by the International Press Institute Global Network of editors, journalists, and media builders together with three non-profits committed to helping news organisations provide audiences with the independent journalism they need.

 

Supported by the European Union, the initiative will pool the strengths of the consortium partners in mobilising networks, running granting and mentoring programmes, and supporting media innovation. Media Innovation Europe aims to help news outlets overcome challenges ranging from broken business models and plummeting revenues to waning public trust, “state capture” of independent media and other political pressures.

EU helps energy efficiency in public buildings in Sarajevo Canton

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

As part of the “Energy efficiency in public buildings in Sarajevo Canton” project, a ceremony was held on 3 June to mark the completion of works to improve the energy efficiency of the “Labudovi” preschool in Sarajevo. The works include thermal insulation of the facade, the installation of thermostatic valves on existing radiators, the installation of calorimeters and automatic heating control with a circulating pump, the replacement of inefficient lighting with new LED bulbs, and preparatory and accompanying works on the building renovation.

 

The project is implemented under the Regional Energy Efficiency Programme (REEP/REEP Plus) for the Western Balkans. The European Union provided €2 million in grants, while the Government of Sarajevo Canton provided €8 million from a loan through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

 

The REEP/REEP Plus programme is identified in the European Commission’s Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans as one of the Flagship “Renovation Wave” projects contributing to clean energy. These projects contribute significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and improve the living standards and health of citizens. They are part of the EU Regulation and Green Agenda Targets for the Western Balkans, following the five pillars of the European Green Deal.

Pollinator Park inspires high school students on World Environment Day

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

On the occasion of World Environment Day, Europe House in Podgorica organised an interactive promotion of Pollinator Park, the wonderful world of pollinating insects in virtual reality. Europe House hosted students attending Ivan Uskoković Secondary Vocational School and Vaso Aligrudić Electrical Engineering School from Podgorica, who had the opportunity to try out the Oculus VR headset for the first time and “walk” through the virtual world of pollinating insects. The high school students talked enthusiastically about this unique experience after visiting Miro’s Meadow, the City Lab and the Canteen, which are part of Pollinator Park.

 

A combination of a zoo, a theme park, an interactive museum and a crystal ball, Pollinator Park takes visitors to the year 2050, showing what the future would hold if pollinators became extinct. A web version is also available.

 

The European Commission created Pollinator Park last year in order to raise awareness and mobilise society to protect pollinators. This publicly-available tool is available to museums, schools and other institutions, stakeholders and partners in Europe and beyond. It supports the communication and educational activities on the environmental and climate crisis in this decade, which are crucial for action to save our planet.