Skip to main content

Author: WeBalkans

‘Udhë’ finds a way to offer ride-shares in Kosovo

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in Stories.

A group of young innovators launch a car-pooling app with EU support. As a student in Prishtina/ Priština, Eroll Gorçi had to travel several times a week from his hometown of Peja/ Peć approximately 80 km away. Taxis were too expensive and buses were not very frequent. Like many other commuters he therefore tried alternative solutions, checking if any of his friends or relatives would be driving to the capital, so he could share a ride. Eroll was a computer science and technology student and as he developed his IT skills he realised that filling the inter-city transport gap with a platform for car-pooling could be an interesting business opportunity. And thus began Udhë (the word means the “way” or” journey” in Albanian), the first car-pooling app in the southern part of the Balkansconnecting drivers with passengers.

“We wanted to test the approach first through social media before we went onto developing an app, and it worked.”

Eroll and his friends first discussed this idea a few years ago and initially agreed to launch a social media page where people who were interested in sharing a ride would be able to communicate and arrange joint travel. “We wanted to test the approach first through social media before we went onto developing an app, and it worked,” says Eroll. The ride-share group on Facebook gathered around 10,000 members in a short period. This proved that people were interested, and the team recognised an opportunity for developing a professional service.   They started to develop the app for drivers and passengers at the beginning of 2020. As they had very little experience in this type of endeavour, they applied to the EU-funded VentureUP project for technical assistance with a focus on prototyping. Eroll and his team benefited from webinars and tools for marketing, business modelling, and funding which were helpful in building their expertise. In addition, they focused on the systematic collection of data which offered a much firmer basis to build confidence in their business model and launch the app.

“The support provided by the European Union was crucial in developing and bringing our idea to life.”

 About the project The VentureUP – University of Pristina Venture Incubator project supported by the European Union in Kosovo provides students and start-ups the opportunity to develop job-creating businesses and increase their chances of meaningful employment in Kosovo. During the first incubation programme in 2019, seven starts ups with a total of 23 team members completed the programme. Of these, four start-ups registered as legal businesses generating revenues and employing a total of 15 people. In 2020, there were 12 start-ups with 31 team members who completed the second incubation programme. As a result of this, five legal businesses have been registered and are generating revenues and employing a total of 18 people. The app has been on the market through Google Play and the Apple store since January 2021. The online community now has over 30,000 followers through social media, and close to 15,000 users of the mobile app. They solve transport problems for several hundred passengers daily. The four-person team is now looking for more significant turnover and help in securing an angel investment for expansion. They are planning to launch the service in Albania and in Balkan markets where the EU’s biggest ride-share platform has failed. Eroll explains that in the Kosovo education system there is a lack of teaching on entrepreneurship and the ways of developing an idea into a product and on monetising ideas. For him, incubator projects are therefore crucial in enabling the first steps on business and entrepreneurship. “The support provided by the European Union was crucial in developing and bringing our idea to life,” he says.

Removing barriers to rail transport in Western Balkans

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

Around 110 participants from the six Western Balkan partners took part in a hybrid TAIEX regional workshop in Montenegro from 7-8 March, focused on improving transport flows on railway border crossing points.

 

The Technical Assistance and Information Exchange (TAIEX) scheme offers peer-to-peer technical assistance and policy support from public specialists based in EU Member States to regional partners in the Western Balkans. Through TAIEX, the EU and public administrations in the region work together to create a better business environment.

 

Over the two days, experts from three EU Member States – Estonia, Poland and Romania – shared their experience and knowledge of relevant EU legislation and customs control procedures with representatives from ministries of transport and interior as well as customs and rail authorities

 

Only 5% of trade between Western Balkans and EU is transported by rail, with an overwhelming 95% transported by road. Rail freight emits far less CO2 than equivalent road transport. To achieve climate neutrality by 2050, a 90% decrease[1] in greenhouse gas emissions from transport will be necessary.

 

Average CO2 emissions by motorised mode of freight transport, EU-27, 2018

Source: Fraunhofer ISI and CE Delft for the European Environment Agency, 2020
Note: tkm = tonne kilometre

 

The Western Balkans also has an important role to play in the global value chains that supply the EU, and vice versa. Improving the efficiency of rail transport is therefore not only important for the environment and climate targets, but also for integrating the Western Balkans Common Regional Market into the European single market.

 

Organised in cooperation with the Ministry of Capital Investments of Montenegro, the Transport Community and the Central European Free Trade Agreement secretariat, the workshop covered the EU legal framework, necessary infrastructure upgrades and practical application of management principles, including the introduction of efficiency assessment tools. The project involved a site visit to a joint rail freight border crossing point in Tuzi, Montenegro – on the border with Albania.

 

Following positive participant feedback, TAIEX will organise additional assistance targeting individual partners in the region – to further support progress in regulatory reform and implementation on the ground.

 

[1] Compared to 1990 levels

High Representative/ Vice-President Josep Borrell in the Western Balkans

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/ Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, was in North Macedonia on Monday before travelling to Albania on Tuesday and to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday. His visit reaffirms the EU’s commitment and support for the region, particularly in light of the Russian war against Ukraine and its impact on the security of Europe as a whole.
 
HR/VP Borrell met in Skopje with President Stevo Pendarovski and Prime Minister Dimitar Kovačevski, Deputy Prime Minister of European Affairs, Bojan Marichijk, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bujar Osmani, and Minister of Defence, Slavjanka Petrovska. On Tuesday, the High Representative will travel to Tirana, where he will meet with Prime Minister Edi Rama and  other representatives of the Albanian authorities and civil society representatives and visit the ongoing restoration works at the mosaic of the National History Museum, renovated under the EU’s post-earthquake recovery assistance.
 
On Wednesday, the HR/VP will be in Sarajevo where he will first pay a visit to the EUFOR Althea Operation whose troops’ capacity on the ground has been almost doubled recently. He will then meet with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s authorities, representatives of political opposition and civil society.

Exhibition promoting EU Green Deal opens in Skopje

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

Following two exhibitions inspired by the pandemic, on the themes of turning boredom into creativity and on art as a way to escape from reality, the Residence of the EU Ambassador to North Macedonia is once again playing host for another display of art.  
The exhibition, opened on 10 March by EU Ambassador, David Geer, and the First Lady, Elizabeta Gjorgjievska, is part of the EU Delegation to North Macedonia’s campaign to promote the goals – and the opportunities – of the European Green Deal. The Green Deal is about living, producing and meeting our needs at minimum cost for the planet and its resources. It is about tackling the consequences of climate change, saving biodiversity and making development sustainable.    
The artworks are by Ozbek Ayvaz, Maja Kirovska, Zoran Todovikj, Nenad Tonkin, Vana Uroshevikj, and Velimir Zhernovski, and were selected by the Skopje Acanthus Gallery. They include reflections on recycling – not only as a way to preserve resources, but also to stimulate creativity, and raise awareness of our dependence on nature, and nature’s healing power. The exhibition will be open for the public until 20 May. Visitors can reserve a time slot and free-of-charge tickets via the EU za Kultura Facebook page

EIB reaffirms commitment to green transition in North Macedonia

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

On a visit to North Macedonia, the Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) reaffirmed the EU bank’s commitment to green transition. Vice-President Lilyana Pavlova set out the support for decarbonisation from the EIB – the lending arm of the EU – through key projects outlined in the Economic and Investment Plan.

 

Bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Dimitar Kovačevski and with ministers including Minister of Finance Fatmir Besimi, with the Mayor of Skopje and the Head of North Macedonia’s EU Delegation helped to identify new possibilities for extending cooperation under the new EIB Global branch. The Global Branch aims to increase support for countries outside the European Union.

 

Vice-President Pavlova highlighted support for the development of modern railway infrastructure, the energy network, and water and wastewater infrastructure to help the country adapt to climate change and protect the environment. The Bank also intends to develop new guarantee and risk-sharing instruments for the private sector in collaboration with the European Commission.

 

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EIB has unlocked €156 million for North Macedonia to enable small and medium-sized enterprises to recover more quickly, and to facilitate the construction of a new gas network essential for stable and secure energy supply. Looking ahead, the Bank will also help its partners in North Macedonia to increase capacity for project preparation and implementation, which will help deliver high-impact investments for the benefit of the country and its people.

Progress made on North Macedonia’s largest environmental project

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

A key step in the implementation of the €136 million EU-supported project was taken with the announcement of the opening of bids for construction of North Macedonia’s largest environmental project – the Skopje wastewater plant.  
The Skopje wastewater treatment plant is one of the 21 flagship projects selected in February for EU financing in 2022 through the Western Balkans Investment Framework. The investment package is a step further in the implementation of the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans 2021-2027. The Skopje wastewater plant is one of the environmental projects selected for financing under Flagship 7 – Waste and Wastewater Management.  
The EU is financing this project with a €70 million investment grant, complementing a €35 million European Investment Bank loan, €30 million European Bank for Reconstruction and Development loan and funds from bilateral donors. As Skopje’s wastewater is currently discharged into the Vardar River without treatment, the project is expected to have significant environmental and public health benefits for the inhabitants of Skopje. It will also contribute to North Macedonia’s compliance with relevant EU environmental and water laws and standards.

Modernisation of Brčko Port is progressing

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

The construction works on the Western Balkans Investment Framework Reconstruction and Modernisation of the River Port of Brčko (Bosnia and Herzegovina) Phase 1 project are progressing, with the port platform completed. This is the first step in the project which started in June 2021. The works will continue with the purchase of a new crane and the reconstruction of the access road from the port to Bijeljinska cesta as well as the industrial railway from the port to Brčko Novo railway station.

 

The Brčko Port equipment is mostly dilapidated, and the portal cranes are more than 50 years old. A new crane with a carrying capacity of up to 16 tonnes (three times larger than the current capacity), will contribute to increasing the handling capacity of goods to 150-200 tonnes per hour.

 

The total value of the project is €10 million, financed by a European Union investment grant of over €3 million and a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for €7 million.

 

The rehabilitation project for Brčko Port has been identified in the European Commission’s Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans as “Flagship 1 (Connecting East to West)” within the Sustainable Transport investment area.

Nominees for the 2022 European Union Prize for Literature announced

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

The organisers of the European Union Prize for Literature, co-financed by the Creative Europe Programme, have published the list of nominees for the 2022 edition. The 14 authors were nominated by national institutions from the 14 countries participating in this year’s edition. The list includes Slađana Nina Perković from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Vladimir Jankovski from North Macedonia.

 

The winner of the 2022 European Union Prize for Literature will be announced on 21 April, during the opening ceremony at the Paris Book Fair. All nominated authors are promoted across Europe, with the aim of reaching a wider international audience, and connecting with readers beyond their national and linguistic borders.

 

The European Union Prize for Literature is an annual initiative to recognise the best emerging European authors and celebrate the linguistic diversity and excellence of literature in countries participating in the Creative Europe programme. The prize is organised by a consortium consisting of the Federation of European Publishers and the International and European Booksellers Federation, with the support of the Creative Europe programme.

RCC presents Regional Network of Women in Entrepreneurship

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) announced the launch of the Western Balkans (WB) Regional Network of Women in Entrepreneurship, at an event which took place on Friday 11 March in Tirana. The launch gathered businesswomen from the entire region, and also served as an opportunity to recognise WB Women Entrepreneurs of the Year 2021.  
Exactly three years ago on this date, the Regional Cooperation Council launched the campaign aimed at empowering Women in Entrepreneurship (WE) in the Western Balkans. WE started with a video of Nada Marković, pioneer of the first female cooperative in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The initiative continued across the region with the stories of many inspiring women in entrepreneurship: Arijana, Blerta, Daklea, Irena, Iris, Klodiana, Marta, Uta, and Zoja; followed by regional activities particularly focused on  empowering young women in business, including through the creation of the Regional Network of Women in Entrepreneurship.   
Women´s economic empowerment is critical to the Western Balkans’ resilience and recovery. The key objective of the Western Balkans Regional Network of Women in Entrepreneurship is to enhance partnerships for women’s economic empowerment, sparking a debate on creating an inclusive environment and addressing the challenges and needs of diverse women entrepreneurs across our region and across key Common Regional Market value chains. 

EU in North Macedonia call for municipal Green Deal award

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

The Delegation of the European Union to North Macedonia has announced a call for nominations for the Municipal Green Deal Award. The call was announced on International World Wildlife Day, and is open to all municipalities. It offers an opportunity to present local activities implemented which contributed to environmental protection during 2021.

 

The call for the selection of the greenest municipality is part of the #EUWITHYOU campaign dedicated to the European Green Deal that started in November 2021. The aim of the competition is to promote positive examples of municipal waste management that have led to systemic changes for the better and achieved long-term results. Because we do not have a spare planet!

 

Each mayor will receive a personal invitation to participate and the call is open until 4 April. From the applications, five municipalities will be selected, among which the greenest will be chosen on the basis of field visits. The Award will be presented by Ambassador David Geer on 5 June – World Environment Day.