The European Commission has adopted (IPARD) rural development programmes under the instrument for pre-accession assistance, offering €112 million for Albania, €97 million for North Macedonia and €288 million for Serbia. The programmes provide the basis for EU support in the field of agriculture and rural development until 2027.
Together with national public and private contributions, the IPARD programmes are expected to generate in total over €2 billion of investments in the rural areas of Western Balkans and Turkey. Through these programmes, countries pursue objectives related to the competitiveness of the agri-food sector, sustainable management of natural resources, climate action and improving rural areas’ attractiveness.
The programmes also contribute to the objectives of the European Green Deal and the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans through investments to align with EU standards including through upgrading buildings, machinery, and equipment. They also help increasing rural areas’ growth potential and their attractiveness to prevent depopulation. This can be done through better infrastructure, diversifying income-generating economic activities and fostering rural employment, in particular among women and youth. IPARD is an integral part of the broader EU pre-accession strategy under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) – the EU’s lending arm – will provide a €400,000 grant for technical assistance support to the Investment and Development Fund of Montenegro (IDF). The grant willstrengthen the IDF’s capacity to provide financial services for the benefit of Montenegro’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), helping them maintain liquidity, expand their investments, and sustain and create inclusive, long-term jobs. With this technical assistance, the EIB is supporting the IDF in the improvement of its organisational and business model to bring its structure in line with best international practice for national development banks.
The EIB grant aims to accelerate the recovery and growth of the private sector in Montenegro and create new job opportunities, especially for young people, women and people from other vulnerable social groups. The grant stems from the Economic Resilience Initiative, set up by the EIB in 2016 to mobilise financing for faster growth, job creation, social cohesion and the development of vital infrastructure projects in the Western Balkans.
Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, the EIB has signed financing operations worth €100 million with the IDF, which has helped around 350 companies in Montenegro recover faster from the COVID-19 crisis. In 2021, the EIB signed its first loan with the IDF to support the introduction of energy-efficient practices and projects among SMEs in Montenegro, enabling a faster transition to a sustainable and circular economy in the country.
After a week of travelling throughout the Western Balkan region, carrying out volunteer initiatives and meet-ups with RYCO local branch offices, young activists and local volunteering organisations, the ROUTE WB6 Caravan ended its journey in Tirana. During these seven days, 45 young people from the region also had the opportunity to visit Bitola, Mostar, Kopaonik, Podgorica, Pristina, and Sarajevo, covering a total of 1,540 kilometres.
TheROUTE WB6Alumni Volunteers, youngHAJDEjournalists andYoung European Ambassadorsjoined forces in tackling joint regional issues while socialising, supporting local communities, and breaking the prejudices and stereotypes that still exist in the region. ROUTE WB6 Alumni clubs were also established across the region.
The Young European Ambassador from Banjaluka, Anastasija Đorđa Bosančić, described the Caravan as a truly life-changing experience. “Certain things cannot be understood or processed until you set foot in all the WB6 societies, spend some time with peers coming from different perspectives and backgrounds, and of course, until you are brave enough to open your heart and dare to say yes to this unusual and amazing adventure. My sincere wish is that the vibe we experienced during this Caravan can be spread across our region in the near future,” Anastasija said.
Thirty families were handed the keys to new apartments in Loznica, Serbia as part of support from the Regional Housing Programme (RHP).
In addition to the beneficiaries themselves, the event was attended by Slavica Jelača, the Secretary General of the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Vladimir Cucić, the Serbian Commissioner for Refugees and Migration, and Vidoje Petrović, the Mayor of Loznica. Delivering the keys to the families, Ms Jelača wished them the best of luck in their new homes.
One of the beneficiaries, Olivera Dunžić, fled from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Serbia with her husband in 1995, and their two children were born in Loznica. “The difficult years are behind us, and we are looking forward decisively,” she said. “Until now, we have lived as tenants in several apartments. Today, we have finally found a secure home. Once again, I would like to thank the donors as well as everyone else who offered us a new beginning.”
The European Union is the largest donor of the Regional Housing Programme, with other key donors being Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland and the United States of America.
EU supports construction of a district heating plant based on renewable energy in Gjakova/Đakovica.
When it was built in the early 1980s, the Ngrohtorja JSC district heating plant was the pride of the city of Gjakova/Đakovica. This was the only city in Kosovo apart from the capital to have a modern district heating system which was reliant on heavy fuel oil. However, heating with oil became less financially efficient, and awareness grew about the pollution it caused. As a result, in the years immediately following the 1999 war in Kosovo, Ngrohtorja almost completely stopped offering heating to the citizens of Gjakova/Đakovica and later provided it only for some hours during the day.
A glimmer of hope that the company might once again offer sustainable heating appeared at the beginning of the past decade, when, with the support of the EU, the Ngrohtorja district heating company initiated a feasibility study on providing quality and environmentally friendly heating energy to local residents.
“When the idea first became public, we were thrilled, but at the same time there was a certain degree of scepticism, as for many years now the company had not provided quality heating.”
Albana Skivjani is the general manager of the company. When the feasibility study was initiated, she was not a manager, but as a citizen of Gjakova/Đakovica and a client of the district heating company she remembers the enthusiasm among the population well. “When the idea first became public, we were thrilled, but at the same time there was a certain degree of scepticism, as for many years now the company had not provided quality heating,” says Albana.
The feasibility study proved that there was a realistic opportunity to bring back a central district heating system to Gjakova/ Đakovica and at the same time use an environmentally friendly energy source.
The magic word was biomass!
Heating with biomass uses organic matter as the fuel for a power station for heating or for generation of electricity. In the case of Gjakova/Đakovica, the plan was to use wood waste (woodchips) and waste generated from vine pruning which is plentiful in the area. However, despite the availability of biomass in the area that could be used as fuel, the project was not an easy one to bring to life, as the cost of the technology was very high and also needed a high level of expertise to make it function. The European Union stepped in and supported the project with around €15 million.
The new plant which produces both heat and electric energy was inaugurated in the autumn of 2021, becoming one of the very few state-of-the-art systems working on biomass in the Western Balkans and a pioneer for the future of energy. This winter, the energy produced by the plant has provided 24-hour heating to the majority of Ngrohtorja JSC district heating company’s customers.
“Personally, and on behalf of the residents of our city, I express my deep gratitude to the EU for this huge project that will provide heating for decades to come, and serve as a good example for other cities.”
About the project
Through the Instrument for Pre-Accession assistance (IPA) 2015 programme, the European Union invested over €15 million in preparatory activities and in the construction of the biomass heating plant in the city of Gjakova/Đakovica. The project was also supported through WBIF with over €600,000 for a study which assessed the technology, financial and economic feasibility, biomass supply chain and the environmental impact assessment. The project will have a significant economic and environmental impact on the city: the annual operational costs for Ngrohtorja JSC are expected to decrease by 35 to 50%, while the overall pollution level in the area will decrease by over 90%.
According to Albana, one of the main challenges was to learn to operate the new technology, as most employees had no experience of it. However, this obstacle was overcome with the support of the EU-funded project that provided specialised training for the staff on using the new technology. Albana explains that this winter they were able to provide 24-hour regular energy to their clients for the first time in many years. “Our clients are thrilled, along with everyone in the city, because apart from having heating, the city is also not polluted by us like it was before,” Albana says. The steady heating coming for the plant was particularly important this year, because of the global energy crisis when energy prices increased and when there were also energy shortages at some points.
“Personally, and on behalf of the residents of our city, I express my deep gratitude to the EU for this huge project that will provide heating for decades to come and serve as a good example for other cities,” Albana says.
A Bosnia and Herzegovina agriculture company has increased its production capacity with EU support.
For more than two decades, Nebojša Radović from Bratunac in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been growing raspberries, and today his wife and three children help him out in the raspberry plantation. Because of the additional income they bring, Nebojša explains: “Raspberries mean a lot to us. My wife has no other job, and my regular job is not enough to cover all living expenses. We have been educating our children in growing raspberries too.”
Nebojša is one of many subcontractors of the family company, Herbos Nature, which has been collecting forest fruits since 2006. Since 2012 it has been engaged in the purchase, processing and wholesale of berries, mushrooms and herbs. Today, it has a network of over 1,000 subcontractors across the country.
“As we were growing continuously, we had issues, but with the pandemic the difficulties increased, in particular for our subcontractors.”
Supporting growth in time of crisis
Maida Hadžiavdić from Herbos Nature explains that the company had been growing steadily for years, but that, like other businesses, they faced difficulties when the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020. “As we were growing continuously, we had issues, but with the pandemic the difficulties increased, in particular for our subcontractors,” says Maida.
Just then, there was a call for proposals for supporting agricultural companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, launched by the EU-funded EU4AGRI project. Herbos Nature applied and received support including the purchase of equipment for the company and their subcontractors and other related assistance for improving working conditions, totalling over €114,000.
As one of Herbos Nature’s subcontractors, Nebojša received valuable EU-funded equipment to make the family’s work a little easier and more efficient. “As I now have my own tiller cultivator donated by EU4AGRI, my costs are lower,” explains Nebojša.
“EU4AGRI has helped us expand our market. In addition to Ustikolina and Bratunac, we now have a new branch in Travnik. We hired more employees and started working with additional subcontractors.”
About the project
The EU4AGRI project is a four-year initiative (2020-2024) aimed at modernising the agri-food sector, creating new jobs, as well as retaining existing ones, and supporting recovery from the COVID-19 crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The total value of the project, funded by the European Union, is over €20 million, and it is jointly implemented and co-financed by the United Nations Development Programme in BiH and the Czech Development Agency.
The project also enabled the company to benefit from new equipment and other support. “The EU4AGRI support has helped us expand our market. In addition to Ustikolina and Bratunac, we now have a new branch in Travnik. We hired more employees and started working with additional subcontractors,” says Maida. Through the EU4AGRI equipment the company has also modernised production processes.
As with 23-year-old Maida, the company’s employees are mostly young trained professionals, tasked to make sure that all work processes meet the highest quality standards. Over 95% of production is destined for export to countries such as France, Germany, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Turkey. “The new equipment has improved production conditions and helped us meet the requirements of our customers,” says Maida. “We are happy to have participated in the EU4AGRI project and thus contributed to the sustainability of the agricultural and food sector in BiH.”
For this year’s International Women’s Day on 8 March, WeBalkans and the Young European Ambassadors (YEAs) teamed up to promote the #BreakTheBias campaign.They did this through reels and other social media content and street actions across the Western Balkans including in Banja Luka, Belgrade, Kumanovo, Niš, Novi Sad, Podgorica, Pristina, Sarajevo, Skopje, and Tirana.
Over 1,500 women participated in street action activities aiming to break the bias of gender stereotypes. The included stopping women on the street and asking them to answer questions such as “Who am I as a woman in the Western Balkans?” and “How do you describe yourself as a woman?” and writing their answers on the totems placed by the YEAs on the street.
Some of the messages that women wrote on totems as part of the action, included: “I would like to see more equality”, “Wonderful”, “Never stronger”, “I am a woman in science”, and “Proud”.
The WeBalkans YEA network was launched in August 2020 as part of the Regional Communication Programme for the Western Balkans (WeBalkans), managed by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR). The platform is a creative network of future young game-changers from across the Western Balkans. These 120 visionary young people are interested in learning about EU values and promoting the opportunities that the EU offers, but also advocate for topics such as gender equality, intercultural learning, environment protection and human rights.
On 16 March, the second open discussion between the EU and US Ambassadors to Albania and the Young European Ambassadors and US Youth Council took place in Tirana. The parties discussed their cooperation since the first meeting held in June 2021, and possible future collaboration between the two youth networks.
The focus of the meeting was the EU Green Agenda for the Western Balkans and how young people can get involved in shaping the Green Agenda in a practical sense. In line with the ambitions of European Green Deal, the Green Agenda paves the way for a transformation towards climate-neutral and resilient, green and circular economies in the region.
Overall, the two Ambassadors encouraged them to engage, exchange ideas and participate in building a better and more secure future for their country, remembering also their place in the world and the difference they can make.
It was agreed that the YEAs and the US Youth Council would prepare a draft for a joint initiative on banning plastic bags in Albania. The next meeting between the networks will be to share the results.
Montenegrin wooden shipbuilding becomes a worldwide brand
For some time, Petar Bokovac was the only person along the Montenegro coast who used the ancient technique of making wooden ships. He had no formal training in shipbuilding but since the 1960s he has been offering repair services using the traditional craft of making wooden boats in his Bokovac Calafat workshop in Bar.
There was no significant profit in repairing boats, but twenty years ago, Petar and his son Nenad built their first 30-tonne fishing vessel. Then Nenad’s wife, Miroslavka, decided to join the company and take the business to another level, turning the Bokovac Calafat Workshop into a worldwide brand. Miroslavka offered marketing of the wooden ships produced by her husband and his father, promoting their craft – as an important element of cultural heritage and tourism potential – among the local community, to the authorities and to an international market.
“What we could share was our approach which is unique to us.”
Local art presented to the world
Miroslavka explains that when she first introduced the idea of promoting the production of wooden ships in traditional style, the local community had serious doubts about it. “They asked who would be interested in our wooden ships in these times of modern yachts and advanced technology,” she says.
However, she persisted. “I thought that what we could share was our approach which is unique to us.”
In order to maintain brand exclusivity, the Bokovac family must fulfil the condition that more than 80% of the material used in making a ship must be of Montenegrin origin. The wood they mainly use for construction is mulberry, which is well known along the Montenegrin coastline and which the Bokovac family call “Montenegrin teak”. It is extremely lightweight but also strong, which is key to the quality of the final product, as wood has to undergo significant processing before being used in the ship. Miroslavka says, “It’s not always easy to buy mulberry, but as more and more people in our area know that these materials are needed, there are more and more frequent calls from landowners who have mulberry trees on their property and who offer them for sale.”
The shipbuilding event that aroused the most media interest in Montenegro and the region over the past few years was the news that the Bokovac Calafat Workshop had been recognised by the royal family of Abu Dhabi, through an order for three ships: one small one with an engine, another just a metre longer than the first, and a third 10 metres long. Nenad and Petar worked hard with their team to fulfil all the requirements so they were able to finish the vessels on time. With the arrival of the boats in the Emirates, the Bokovac family had become a globally-recognised brand.
“The ReLOaD project helped us with further promotion of this skill to our community and to the world. More importantly, it helped us to pass on this skill to younger generations.“
About the programme
The Regional Programme for Local Democracy in the Western Balkans (ReLOaD) is funded by the European Union and implemented by the United National Development Programme. ReLOaD is now in its second phase, lasting until 2024.
Recently, the Calafat workshop has joined forces with the EU-funded ReLOaD project and started the mission of promoting their tradition along the entire Montenegrin coast. The Cattaro Sail Project offered training on shipbuilding to young people, and promotion of sailing through publications and social networks. The grand finale was the “Days of Sail” event and the Kotor Regatta. Models of sailing boats from this project were donated to the Maritime Museum, and a big step was made towards the preservation of this historical skill and its value for tourism. Miroslavka says that for the Calafat workshop, “The ReLOaD project helped us with further promotion of this skill to our community and to the world. More importantly, it helped us to pass on this skill to younger generations”.
The word calafat can be found in Greek and Arabic, and since ancient times has referred to a ship’s craftsman with expertise in maintaining a wooden frame. Later, this term began to refer to the most experienced and respected of shipbuilders. The Bokovac workshop is the only one in the world who has the right to use the name “Calafat”. For them, as well as for Montenegro, it is an honour to be keeping this tradition alive.
Five outstanding women who are making a difference in their fields while giving inspiration to society at large have been nominated by #TeamEurope in North Macedonia for the 2022 European Woman of the Year Award.
The five nominees are national transplant coordinator Maja Mojsova Mijovska, alpinist Ilina Arsova, film director and writer Dina Duma, National Gallery director Dita Starova Qerimi, and MaMa Organa company founder Natalija Burgieva. They were proposed by the ambassadors of Croatia (Nives Tiganj), Germany (Anke Holstein), Romania (Monica Axinte), Sweden (Kristen Forsgren Bengtsson) and the EU (David Geer), respectively.
“We mark International Women’s Day by honouring five extraordinary women who have shown that only the sky is the limit in pursuing dreams and in working for the common good. Their stories are inspiring. They break prejudices. They prove that gender has nothing to do with ability and that capacity and dedication have no gender,” said Ambassador Geer at the ceremony, also attended by First Lady Elizabeta Gjorgievska.
The Delegation’s European Woman of the Year Award – complementary to the European of the Year Award that the Delegation introduced in 2019 – aims to raise awareness of the obstacles to gender equality while giving recognition to women who lead by example and help in making the world more equal.
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