In 2021, the European Investment Bank Group (EIB), the European Union’s bank, invested €853 million across the Western Balkans for sustainable development, the green transition, digitalisation and support for small businesses. In 2021, the EIB provided €560 million for small and medium-sized companies in the region to help maintain liquidity, continue with investments, retain jobs and create new employment opportunities. These funds were available under affordable, long-term and flexible conditions as part of the Team Europe financial package for a faster COVID-19 recovery for the region.
As the EU climate bank, the EIB also scaled up its technical and financial support to focus on the preparation and implementation of climate and sustainable projects, in line with the EU Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans. In 2021, it unlocked a total of €257 million for environmental protection, more secure and efficient energy networks, sustainable transport and the introduction of climate-friendly projects among small companies.
With €200 million invested in digital projects in the region since 2020, the EIB has enabled smart, resilient and inclusive growth. EIB investments address the region’s digital gap and allow upgrades to the existing 4G network and introduction of the 5G network, as well as digitalisation of over 1,500 schools and the development of digital skills.
The European Investment Bank is the European Union’s long-term lending institution, owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals.
An EU-funded project has helped turn an Ottoman palace into a culture resource for residents and visitors alike in the area between Kosovo and North Macedonia.
A wedding chest that’s over two hundred years old, traditional costume, shoemakers’ and silversmiths’ tools, and other historical artefacts can now be seen by visitors at the ethnological museum in Gjilan/ Gnjilane, in eastern Kosovo. They are housed in a building known to locals as Hysen Pasha Palace as it was built by Hysen Pasha Milla, one of the leading Ottoman administrators of the region. It was constructed in 1887 and for several decades was used as a family home, until being confiscated by the Yugoslav government after the Second World War and used for over seven decades as a school.
Today it is one of the finest pieces of Ottoman-era architecture in Kosovo. In particular, its carved wooden ceilings make it a unique place to visit but until recently the building’s use as a music school meant visitors had limited access to it. This changed with an initiative from Gjilan/ Gnjilane municipality with EU support.
“Because we did not have a dedicated space, we had to display our archaeological and ethnological artefacts in the national museum in the capital.”
A new museum building for cultural heritage
The city of Gjilan/ Gnjilane and its surrounding area are rich in archaeological and ethnological artefacts, but until five years ago there was no dedicated space for these to be exhibited. “Because we did not have a dedicated space, we had to display our archaeological and ethnological artefacts in the national museum in the capital,” says GjylshenDoko Berisha, the head of the museums in Gjilan/ Gnjilane.
This situation changed in 2016 with the opening of the archaeological museum and then improved further with the opening of the ethnological museum, which benefitted from EU support.
Djellza Ademi was the coordinator of the EU-funded cross-border cooperation (CBC) project focusing on the enhancement of cultural and natural heritage values that enabled the renovation of the building and opening of the ethnological museum. She explains that the municipality of Gjilan/ Gnjilane has a large number of visitors during the year, particularly those from the diaspora who visit the city regularly once or twice a year. “Despite this rich cultural and natural heritage, we had very little to offer visitors,” says Djellza.
On the initiative of the municipality and in cooperation with the municipality of Kumanovo on the other side of the border, in North Macedonia, it was decided to create a better tourist attraction. The Kosovo -North Macedonia CBC call was a perfect match for this type of initiative as both municipalities lacked funding and expertise.
“The municipality of Gjilan has benefited from a number of EU-funded projects in past years and, as with this one, without EU support it would be very difficult to implement these activities.”
About the project
The aim of the EU-funded cross-border cooperation project “Enhancement of cultural and natural heritage values” was to bring investments and promote the cross-border area as a tourism destination, to enhance cultural and natural heritage values through the conservation and restoration of an old building, and to establish traditional cultural events in the cross-border area.
The project results include the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage sites, construction of locations for sports and increased promotion of cultural heritage. The total value of the project was over €477,000 and it was completed in 20 months.
With the support of the EU, the two project partner municipalities managed to restore the old building and adapt it to be used as the Ethnographic Museum, to construct an amphitheatre, and to create space for football, basketball and tennis in Kumanovo. In addition to infrastructure upgrades, the project partners launched an online platform with all the information related to tourism and culture in the cross-border area. They also organised folk festivals and networking events with tourism operators and service providers, and other activities for promoting the cross-border region as a tourist destination.
“The municipality of Gjilan has benefitted from a number of EU-funded projects in past years and, as with this one, without EU support it would be very difficult to implement these activities,” says Djellza Ademi.
In the presence of many art lovers, Europe House in North Mitrovica, Kosovo, launched an exhibition titled “Connections” by Katarina Nedeljković. The exhibition, which is Katarina’s first, includes her abstract art works in sculpture, drawing, and graphics.
According to Katarina, the theme “Connections” emerged spontaneously. “It is extremely important for us to know what connections we want to have with nature, God, ourselves, family, friends, and others. I created my abstract works based on this, trying to show the most important connections for me” she says.
The “Connections” exhibition can be visited at Europe House in North Mitrovica every working day from 9.00 to 18.00.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) – the lending arm of the EU – has signed a cooperation agreement with the City of Niš in Serbia to finance the preparation of a sustainable urban mobility plan, enabling the city to make informed investment decisions concerning its transport network. By taking into account existing travel patterns, development trends and the municipality’s strategic planning objectives, the sustainable urban mobility plan will help ensure that investments are optimised to provide efficient, safe, convenient and less carbon-reliant mobility. Technical assistance will enable the City of Niš to explore opportunities created by the future removal of freight traffic from the existing inter-urban railway corridor crossing the city.
The sustainable urban mobility plan and the investments it will generate will help Niš to grow, supported by a high-quality, well-integrated transport network, thus enhancing the appeal of the city as a place to live and invest in. Technical assistance is being provided under Team Europe and the joint Urban Projects Finance Initiative between the EIB and Agence Française de Développement (AFD), launched to support ambitious urban development projects.
EU project for inclusive education in Kosovo offers support to children with special needs and from vulnerable communities.
Arti is a 12-year-old boy who is stubborn about his independence. He lives with Down syndrome, a genetic disorder usually associated with learning difficulties. It is only during his lifetime that Kosovan law has changed so that children with Down Syndrome and other children with special needs can attend mainstream schools. Students like Arti are now learning in a new era.
It can be challenging to include children with special needs in mainstream schools without a teaching assistant in class. As the school could not provide one, in Arti’s case the role of teaching assistant was taken over by his mother. This lasted for some years until the EU-funded Education for All project stepped in to provide a teaching assistant for Arti and other children with special needs at his school. “With the help of the dedicated teaching assistant, Arti has managed to be completely independent from me and to develop his skills by fulfilling most of the objectives on his individual learning plan,” says Arti’s mother, Florentina.
“Children with special needs face different challenges: some of them may have difficulties with reading, some with maths or with other subjects. We therefore devise and implement an individual learning plan for each child with special needs.”
Arti is assisted in his day-to-day school activities by Xhenneta Shabani, a graduate from the pedagogical faculty who joined the project team as an intern. As soon as she began work, she got together with the class teacher to devise an individual learning plan for Arti and started on its implementation. “Children with special needs face different challenges: some of them may have difficulties with reading, some with maths or with other subjects. We therefore devise and implement an individual learning plan for each child with special needs,” says Xhenneta.
Xhenneta helps Arti during class and is present all the time in the classroom along with the regular teacher. As well as working with Arti, she also supports other children. Her long-term professional plan is to work as a school counsellor, so the experience that she gained in this project is extremely valuable. “Perhaps the best part of my engagement in this project is that when I start working as a school counsellor, I will be able to transfer all the knowledge from this project to the school that I am working in so also other teachers and children can benefit,” she says.
The Education for All project is being implemented by the Czech non-governmental organisation (NGO) People in Need and partners from Kosovo. Njomza Emini from People in Need explains how essential the project is for children with special needs in Kosovo. “We had cases where schools were reluctant to admit children with special needs, as they need dedicated attention and schools lack the support staff. Even if they had time for them, the existing teachers lack specific training on addressing the needs of these children,” says Njomza.
Her project therefore runs a programme engaging 42 interns supporting 250 children like Arti who have special needs or are from vulnerable communities. The project also offers training to regular teachers on inclusive education of children with special needs. So far, the project has trained over 150 teachers and they are planning to train up to 225 by the end of the project. The training has included topics such as the principles of inclusion, communication with children with special needs, and identifying and managing cases of bullying. “The training was very much welcomed by the schools’ managers and the teachers who participated,” says Njomza.
“There are considerable gaps in inclusive education in Kosovo, and until our institutions manage to fill these gaps, the support from the EU and other donors is very important.”
About the project
The EU-funded Education for All project was launched in 2018 and focuses on the right to equal education for children and adolescents with special needs and those such as the Roma coming from vulnerable communities. Funded under the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), the project is implemented by the Czech NGO, People in Need, in partnership with Kosovan NGOs Autizmi Flet and The Ideas Partnership.
In devising the teacher training, the project benefited from the experience of the “Varianty” education department at People in Need in the Czech Republic and their use of the guidelines of the European Agency for Inclusive Education. “There are considerable gaps in inclusive education in Kosovo, and until our institutions manage to fill these gaps, the support from the EU and other donors is very important,” says Njomza.
The project has another component focused on the improvement of inclusive education at an institutional level. Inclusive education platforms have been set up in each project location including local stakeholders such as the municipality, human rights organisations, and parents. The inclusive education platform in the town of Janjeva/ Janjevo, has managed to secure the sustainability of the internship programme by including it in the municipal budget even after the completion of the project. In Obiliq/ć they managed to renovate the dedicated classroom for children with special needs with the support of the municipality.
On 1 February, construction work started on the Serbian section of the 171km natural gas interconnector that will connect Niš (Serbia) and Sofia (Bulgaria) and increase regional energy security. Citizens in Bela Palanka, Dimitrovgrad and Pirot in south-eastern Serbia will have access to a source of energy for heating that is cleaner and cheaper than before, while the new connection will also bring big benefits for industry and many other areas of the economy.
The European Union provided €49.5 million in non-refundable grants for the Serbia-Bulgaria gas interconnector project, combined with a €25 million loan on favourable terms from the European Investment Bank.
Speaking at the opening of construction works near Dimitrovgrad, the Ambassador of the European Union to Serbia, Emanule Giaufret, signalled the importance of this project for energy connection between Serbia and the EU.
“This is another step towards better connections between Serbia and the European Union. We connect in two very important areas. The first is energy security, and the second is a cleaner environment. These two areas are important in the context of European integration, but also for every citizen of Serbia.
“Today, we are taking an important step towards securing exactly these two things,” said Ambassador Giaufret. “Transition and modernisation require significant investments. With this investment, we reaffirm the European Union’s commitment to helping Serbia transition from coal to less polluting energy sources.”
This new gas pipeline will allow a flow of 1.8 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually and is due to be completed by the end of 2023. It will provide an additional 80% of capacity relative to Serbia’s current annual gas needs, significantly increase the overall security of natural gas supply, and contribute to cleaner energy targets.
This will also enable more diversified energy sources in Serbia and the Western Balkan region, reducing dependency on one dominant supplier. The sources could include the LNG (liquefied natural gas) from Greece and Azeri gas coming through the TANAP (Turkey) and TAP (GR) pipelines. This means more energy security, more competition in the market and less polluting energy for Serbia.
Gas pipelines supportive of the low carbon transition and transit of decarbonised gas and hydrogen play a key role in the transition from coal to more sustainable and green energy production. The gas interconnector has therefore been identified as a flagship project in the EU’s Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans.
The Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) – a joint initiative of the EU, financial organisations, bilateral donors and beneficiaries that pools funds from the various sources and aims to enhance cooperation in investments in the region – provided a technical assistance grant for the preparation of the feasibility study.
An EU-funded project provides online and telephone counselling for children young people and families in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Angela* is a 21-year-old student who turned to the Blue Phone Counselling Line for support with her mental health problems. “I have been sad and listless for a long time: sometimes I cry so much that I start vomiting, and sometimes I don’t have the strength for a single tear, although I would like to cry. I am lethargic: there is no longer anything that would make me happy,” Angela said in a call with a Blue Phone counsellor. Angela had called the Blue Phone because she knew she needed support with what she was going through.
The Blue Phone counsellor helped Angela to normalise her feelings and devise a plan of action. She was taught to use two grounding techniques: a breathing technique and the five senses technique, which help her focus her attention and body on the present moment and to stay calmer.
“The Blue Phone is an important service for young people in BiH. The pandemic has made it very difficult for the majority of the population to function, and the support that the Blue Phone can provide is necessary in order to prevent even more negative effects on mental health.”
Important service for young people
The Blue Phone is a free online and telephone counselling service which was launched by the Nova Generacija NGO. The service is currently being implemented with the support of the Programme for Mitigating the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Lives of Children and Families in the Western Balkans and Turkey, funded by the EU and implemented by UNICEF.
Maja Kovačević is one of the counsellors working with the service. She explains that for counsellors the most important thing is for people to feel secure and understand that they will not be judged. “The Blue Phone is an important service for young people in BiH. The pandemic has made it very difficult for the majority of the population to function, and the support that the Blue Phone can provide is necessary in order to prevent even more negative effects on mental health,” says Maja.
The service was launched initially only for children but one of the project’s managers, Saša Risojević, explains that the service evolved very rapidly and with the accelerating impact of the pandemic they had to expand their services to older age groups.
“The impact of the EU support was really significant, as it considerably strengthened the Blue Phone service capacity.”
About the project
The Blue Phone service offering free online and telephone counselling is being implemented by the Nova Generacija NGO with the support of the Programme for Mitigating the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Lives of Children and Families in the Western Balkans and Turkey, which is a part of the European Union’s assistance package for the Western Balkans being implemented by UNICEF BiH.
*Name changed to protect her privacy
He explains that with increasing interest, they started to miss up to 250 calls a month. He saw that this was mainly due to the service being offered only in working hours. With the support of the EU, they expanded their working hours until later in the evening and now they have only 10 to 15 missed calls in a month. “The impact of the EU support was really significant, as it considerably strengthened the Blue Phone service capacity,” says Saša.
In addition, with the support of the EU they also launched a campaign against violence in the family and raising awareness about the Blue Phone service. As a result of this campaign, they managed to attract over 35,000 visitors to their web page, and the number of children young people and families benefiting from Blue Phone services increased considerably.
Until now, the Blue Phone service has functioned with the support of donors and the initiative of the Nova Generacija NGO team. Saša hopes that in the future the Blue Phone service will be supported also by the government and in this way gain long-term sustainability. “We had a number of meetings and roundtables with representatives of institutions where we presented the Blue Phone service’s impact and results. I think they also acknowledged its importance and we expect that in the future they also will start to support service,” says Saša.
An EU-funded project promotes birdwatching for tourists as part of a cross-border cooperation project.
Legend has it that Skadar Lake was created from the tears shed by a Montenegrin fairy, whose wish for her eyes to be turned from blue to black was refused by God, who instead blinded her. The fairy cried so much that her tears created a lake. Astonished by its beauty, God restored her sight. Indeed, those who have been there would agree that the Skadar Lake is one of the most beautiful natural locations in the Western Balkans and a natural playground for lovers of outdoor adventures, with 400 square kilometres of spectacular national park to explore. However, this fairyland still does not receive the attention it deserves, either from local or international tourists. At least this is what people at the Montenegrin NGO CZIP believe.
CZIP stands for Centar za Zaštitu i proučavanje Ptica (“Centre for Protection and Research of Birds”) and the organisation has been working for over 20 years on the protection of birds and the environment, and the promotion of natural and cultural heritage in Montenegro. Last year, with partner organisations from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, they launched the “Pannonia-Adria Connection” or PA.CON project with EU funding to promote tourism at sites in all three countries: Nijemci in Croatia, Tuzla in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Skadar Lake in Montenegro.
“Currently most of the visitors to Skadar Lake are attracted to what we call mass tourism: coming to the lake, having coffee or lunch, a bit of sightseeing, and then leaving. We wanted to change this habit for the better.”
Increasing tourism perspectives
Zoran Popović from CZIP is one of the coordinators of this project and he explains that the idea behind the project is the better use of the resources in all three countries for tourism promotion. “Currently most of the visitors of Skadar lake are attracted to what we call mass tourism: coming to the lake, having coffee or lunch, a bit of sightseeing, and then leaving. We wanted to change this habit for the better,” says Zoran.
Zoran says that they wanted to turn the lake into a destination where tourists stayed longer, but for this to happen, the tourists needed more attractions and opportunities. This led to discovery activities such as birdwatching, hiking, cycling, boat trips and other elements of eco and adventure tourism.
The PA.CON project works on developing birdwatching sites in all three countries – a tourist information house at Sopotac, a playground and bird-watching towers in Croatia, renovation of the nature park house at Ilinčica and installation of LED lights along the road as well as arranging 16 micro-picnic sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project will also invest in the reconstruction of the old railway embankment in Virpazar, turning it into a hiking path, and the purchase of a solar-powered boat, electric bicycles and accompanying solar charging stations, all with the aim of promoting tourism activities with low environmental impact.
“Without this level of financial support from the EU, it would not be possible to implement this significant project.”
About the project
The PA.CON project is supported by the European Union within the IPA Cross-border Cooperation Programme Croatia – Bosnia and Herzegovina – Montenegro 2014-2020. The lead partner on the PA.CON project is the Municipality of Nijemci from Croatia; the partners from Bosnia and Herzegovina are the City of Tuzla and the Association for Development NERDA from Tuzla, while the partners in Montenegro are the Centre for Protection and Research of Birds and the Public Enterprise for Montenegro’s National Parks. The implementation of the PA.CON project officially began in October 2020 and will last a total of 24 months.
The total value of the project for all three countries is €1.8 million, while about €280,000 will be invested to improve the tourist infrastructure on Skadar Lake. “Without this level of financial support of this scale from the EU, it would not be possible to implement this significant project,” says Zoran.
Apart from direct interventions in infrastructure and promotion activities, the project also includes capacity building for ensuring that the project’s impact is sustained. Through a series of six educational courses in all three countries and a study visit, the project partners and target group representatives will have the opportunity to improve their own capacity and the quality of their services.
According to Zoran, the project will have a significant long-term impact on the local population, economy and preservation of the natural environment. “But what is more important, I think, is that it is going to shift the mindsets of many people and many institutions, and show them what is possible and how easily things can be accomplished with proper planning and implementation,” says Zoran.
The development of digital infrastructure in Western Balkan beneficiaries is a flagship for the European Union’sEconomic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans. Through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) in cooperation with theEuropean Investment Bank, the European Union is funding a project with €550,000 to investigate the feasibility of improving and expanding broadband infrastructure in Montenegro. The results of the study for the effective deployment of Next Generation Networks in Montenegro were presented during a remote meeting on 19 January.
The project began in July 2020 and includes an assessment of the existing situation in Montenegro and the plans of telecom operators to deploy infrastructure in the next three years.
The planned investment value is estimated to be €56 million with operating expenses of an estimated €44.5 million during 20 years of operation. While the financial internal rate of return is negative, the economic internal rate of return is estimated to be almost 7%, rendering the investment socio-economically feasible. This will enable the mobilisation of grants provided by the European Union for up to 30% of the investment budget as foreseen in the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans. In February, the government of Montenegro will apply to WBIF for further grants for the preparation of the next stages of the project including the necessary tender documents for works and supervision of works.
Sixty secondary schools from the Western Balkans have been selected to participate in the Superschools programme of the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO). Their students and teachers will have a chance to implement school-to-school exchanges as well as to participate in other activities dedicated to their capacity building, networking and cooperation.
During the first Superschools open call, RYCO received 127 exchange proposals, while more than 412 schools from the Western Balkans used the www.superschools.net online platform for networking with other schools. The selection committee then had to select the 30 best projects aimed at supporting peacebuilding and reconciliation processes and intercultural learning and dialogue among schools, students and their communities.
The implementation of the projects will take place from February to May this year when each school will organise one exchange visit to their partner, lasting between six and ten days with a group of up to 20 students and one or two teachers. Through the exchange scheme, students and teachers will have a chance to travel, and to present themselves, their schools and customs to their hosts, and learn new things about communities in different parts of our region.
The programme is being implemented for three years and is part of a multi donor project “Western Balkans School Exchange Scheme” co-financed by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) together with the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO).
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