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Author: WeBalkans

New bridge connects BiH with Croatia across the River Sava

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

On 15 October, steel construction works joined up to complete the bridge at the border town of Gradiška on the Sava River. The European Union is co-funding the building of this bridge – one of the most important regional infrastructure projects connecting Bosnia and Herzegovina with Croatia – providing grants worth €3.2 million. This grant support is combined with a €65 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB), the lending arm of the EU.  
The bridge is expected to have a radical impact on the local economies, and stimulate wider connections and exchange between the Western Balkans and the EU. As a main border crossing point, Gradiška has been a bottleneck for decades. This bridge will cut waiting times and improve the flow of goods and people. Part of the road Corridor Vc connecting the north and south of BiH and linking to the wider trans-European core network, the bridge will provide an essential transport link not only for the two countries but also for the rest of Europe.  
Speaking at the official ceremony marking the bridge connection, Stefano Ellero, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, said: “The European Union has been a key partner in creation of this core road transport network connecting Bosnia and Herzegovina with Europe. Just two weeks ago, the Svilaj bridge was officially opened by the President of the European Commission and, as she stated, this symbolic act of connecting two parts means connecting people and cultures.”  
“This comes at a key time in the period of recovery from the pandemic and its impact on the economy and lives of citizens; this will boost trade, economic recovery and growth.”  
The bridge is part of a bigger project that includes the construction of modern border crossing facilities, and the section of Route 2a motorway between Banja Luka and Gradiška already completed in 2011. Overall, the European Union has so far allocated over €225 million in grants for 13 projects in the transport sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina along Corridor Vc – the largest infrastructure project in the country’s history – connecting Bosnia and Herzegovina with EU capitals and bringing people and countries closer.

Bridging the gap over the River Sava

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in Stories.

The EU-backed new bridge between Croatia and BiH will be a ‘game-changer’ for local economies and beyond, easing connections between the Western Balkans and the EU. Teran Mušinovič is a truck driver from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). For years he has travelled frequently to Croatia and other EU countries transporting goods. He explains that one of the hardest parts of his job is waiting at borders. The most difficult of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s border crossing point for him is at Gradiška. “We wait for five, six, seven sometimes even eight hours, at Gradiška,” says Teran. Gradiška is a town in the north-west of Bosnia and Herzegovina, situated on the right bank of the Sava River across from another small town, Stara Gradiška, which is in Croatia. Gradiška used to be a quiet little place with only occasional visitors. However, when Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia gained their independence, the town became the main border crossing point between the two countries. Long lines of vehicles and frustrated drivers are a common sight now in Gradiška as the route to the border runs through the town for approximately two kilometres, causing traffic congestion, bottlenecks and air pollution.

“Back then, the bridge was built to connect two small towns. But now it’s at a border crossing point, and this has caused problems with long traffic queues at the border and within Gradiška town.”

A bridge between people and economies  Davor Vučković works as a coordinator at the JP Autoputevi public enterprise, the motorway company in Bosnia’s Republika Srpska. He explains that the old bridge now connecting two countries at the Gradiška border point was constructed in the 1970s. “Back then, the bridge was built to connect two small towns. But now it’s at a border crossing point, and this has caused problems with long traffic queues at the border and within Gradiška town,” says Davor. With the support of the European Union, the situation is now changing. As part of the Corridor Vc investment project – the largest infrastructure project in the country’s history – a new bridge, coupled with cross-border facilities, have been built outside the urban centre. Officially connected in October 2021, the 430-metre bridge over the River Sava now links not only BiH and Croatia but also the Western Balkan region with the EU. The modern facilities and improved infrastructure is expected to slash waiting times at the border on Route 2a, which runs almost 240 km from Lasva (Zenica) in Bosnia and Herzegovina via Banja Luka, to Okučani in Croatia. Altogether, the bridge, border facilities, and a section of the Route 2a motorway between Banja Luka and Gradiška already completed in 2011, received over  €3 million in grants from the European Union and a loan of €65 million from the European Investment Bank, the EU’s lending arm.

 “With 105 km already built in the Republika Srpska and about 115 km in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the support of the EU, BiH has more than 200 km of the most advanced motorway network with the highest safety standards for all users on the roads.”

About the project The pan-European corridor Vc in Bosnia and Herzegovina is the first major motorway and the largest infrastructure project in the country´s history. To date, the European Union has invested over €225 million in grants combined with close to €1 billion in loans through the European Investment Bank, for the construction of 12 motorway sections of Corridor Vc in BiH and one cross-border bridge. This financing is channelled through the Western Balkans Investment Framework, an EU-led donor investment platform that pools grants with implementing partner financing to support EU enlargement and socio-economic development in the region. As Davor explains, thanks to this investment, the flow of goods and people will significantly increase, with the smoother traffic flows and quality connections also contributing to improved safety. “With 105 km already built in the Republika Srpska and about 115 km in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the support of the EU, BiH has more than 200 km of the most advanced motorway network with the highest safety standards for all users on the roads.” But it’s not just about better links between BiH and Croatia. The new border crossing will also provide a link into to the wider Trans-European transport network, which will be a game-changer for the local economy. For Teran and his many colleagues, this means that in the future lorry transit to the EU will be faster. The cross-border crossing will also have wider impact – creating new jobs, and both literally and metaphorically bringing opportunity to ‘build bridges’ between cross-border communities and cultures.

Innovative digital solution products presented at the WB Digital Summit

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Six new “made in the Western Balkans” digital products have been presented in Podgorica at the fourth Western Balkans Digital Summit. The creators of products making digital connections with organic food, agriculture, sales, health, transportation services, small businesses, and environment-friendly plastic are all winners of the second Balkathon, the annual regional competition organised by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and funded by the European Union, with the aim of encouraging the creation of new digital solutions to the challenges of our daily lives.  
Maja Handjiska Trendafilova, Head of the RCC Programme Department, said at the event: “We are very proud that the competition born out of a wish to help our region in times of pandemic resulted today in six great products that can be of use to the citizens and businesses in our region. I congratulate these young people and wish them all success in the placement of these products and in their future work.”  
“I would also like to use this opportunity to invite all interested young people, start-ups, entrepreneurs, students, digital innovation hubs, scientific parks, universities, small and medium-sized enterprises, etc. from all the Western Balkan economies to join our third Balkathon next spring. Maybe your solution will be the winning one.”  

EU and EBRD step up support for small businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina

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The EU is providing grants and technical assistance for small businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a supplement to the €5 million loan provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) through UniCredit Bank a.d. Banja Luka to improve access to finance for local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).  
The loan is being provided under the Bank’s SME Competitiveness Programme, through which local SMEs can access well-structured finance. Incentive grants are available for up to 15% of their loan amount.  
UniCredit Bank a.d. Banja Luka will lend the funds to SMEs for investment purposes, so that they can upgrade their production facilities to make them compatible with EU standards in areas such as environmental protection, worker safety and product quality. At least 60% of the loans will go to investments that support green transition.  
The financing will increase the competitiveness of local businesses and give them greater opportunities to succeed in domestic, regional and international markets.  

EU supports Bosnia and Herzegovina with €125 million in macro-financial assistance

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The EU has disbursed €125 million in macro-financial assistance (MFA) to Bosnia and Herzegovina. This disbursement is part of the €3 billion emergency macro-financial assistance package for ten enlargement and neighbourhood partners, which aims to help them respond to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. MFA support is provided through loans at very favourable rates. The programme is a concrete demonstration of the EU’s solidarity with its partners to help respond to the economic impact of the pandemic.
 
The disbursement of this first instalment follows the agreement and ratification of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the European Commission and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The MoU lays out the specific policy measures that Bosnia and Herzegovina will implement to improve economic governance, financial sector stability, transparency and the fight against corruption, and the functioning of the labour market. The disbursement of the second and final instalment of €125 million will be conditional on the implementation of these policy measures which will require close cooperation between all levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina. With this disbursement, the EU has successfully completed five out of the ten MFA programmes in the €3 billion COVID-19 MFA package, and disbursed the first tranches to all partners.

#ErasmusDays 2021: three days to learn everything about the programme

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This week, from 14-16 October, events and initiatives around the world celebrate the EU’s flagship youth programme – Erasmus+ – with past and present Erasmus beneficiaries sharing their experience.

 

Erasmus+ promotes cooperation in education and training all over Europe. The first of these three-day celebrations marked the 30th anniversary of Erasmus+ in 2017. In 2021, a year of transition and the launch of the Erasmus+ programme for the 2021-2027 period, the Erasmus Days focus on the European Commission’s four priorities for the new programme: inclusion, sustainable development, the digital sector and active participation in democracy. As in previous years, there is a variety of events, from exhibitions, conferences, discussion panels and poetry slams to digital events like e-tournaments, webinars and podcasts. The events and initiatives are organised also throughout Western Balkans.

 

Erasmus+ is open to the Western Balkans and has offered a host of opportunities for students, educational staff, youth and sports organisations from the region to study, teach or volunteer abroad. More than 30,000 students and staff have taken part in exchanges between the Western Balkans and the EU since 2015, with 300 master students from the region availing of scholarships. Discover some of their stories here and directly in the links below.

Walking in the footsteps of Mother Teresa

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Restoration of a pilgrimage mountain path linking Kosovo and North Macedonia brings a boost to local economies and shared cultural heritage. Letnica is a village in south-east Kosovo with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants. However, for a few weeks in summer the population of the village increases to over 30,000. The reason for this is pilgrimage to the Black Madonna statue, Our Lady of Letnica.

This statue is over 300 years old and its history goes back to Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia. After the withdrawal of the Austrian army from the city in the sixteenth century, and Skopje’s return to Ottoman rule, some of the city’s Catholics fled to Letnica, taking with them the Black Madonna statue. In the nineteenth century, Fulgencio Carev, the Archbishop of Skopje, organised an annual pilgrimage to Letnica.

“Having a family originally from Prizren in Kosovo, and growing up in Skopje, Mother Teresa’s childhood is a perfect example of joint cultural heritage that should bond people together from both places and beyond.”

In August 1928, one of the pilgrims was young Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, who had made the journey since the age of seven. Anjeza was born and lived in Skopje, but it was in Letnica on that Assumption Day that she heard the call from Our Lady of Letnica, the Black Madonna, to become a missionary sister and serve the poor of the world. That year she left Skopje to join the sisters of Loretto and sailed to India under the name Sister Maria Teresa. Unleashing cultural and economic potential The cross-border pilgrimage path that Mother Teresa travelled was closed and not used for decades, with a lack of maintenance and people starting to use vehicles to come to Letnica. The Kosovo Foundation for Cultural Heritage without Borders (CHwB) and their partner organisation, the Foundation for Development of Small and Medium Enterprises in Skopje, saw that the restoration and reopening of the mountain path would be a good opportunity for promoting cultural heritage and the economic development of the region, in particular with the link to the life of Mother Teresa. Adea Mekuli is the manager of the project. “Mother Teresa is known around the world, but there was very little information about young Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, before she became famous,” she says. “Having a family originally from Prizren in Kosovo, and growing up in Skopje, Mother Teresa’s childhood is a perfect example of joint cultural heritage that should bond people together from both places and beyond.” Vital EU support The idea was supported by the EU, and research and information collection on the early life of Mother Teresa was one of the main components of the ‘On the Trail of Mother Teresa’ project which was financed under the EU-funded programme for cross-border cooperation between Kosovo and North Macedonia. Apart from restoring and signposting the pilgrimage route as a hiking path, and collecting and publishing information on the early life of Mother Teresa, the project also contributed to the restoration of sites of cultural heritage such as the Mother Teresa Museum in Prizren, the pilgrimage site in Letnica Village and the Monastery of St Panteleimon in Upper Nerezi in Skopje.
 

“The project will have an impact on the further cultural education of people in the cross-border area and on further economic development of the cross-border region.”

About the project  The main objective of the EU-funded ‘On the Trail of Mother Teresa Cultural Route’ project was to strengthen cooperation between civil society organisations and others in Kosovo and North Macedonia through the recognition of shared values and joint economic growth. Adea explains that the EU support was crucial for bringing the project to life, with wider impacts that will resonate across the region. “The project will have an impact on the further cultural education of people in the cross-border area and on further economic development of the cross-border region,” she says. The Mother Teresa route is now open for visitors who want to hike or join the pilgrimage in the old style, and on the way also learn more about one of the most iconic figures of the twentieth century.

Young European Ambassadors embrace green activism

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Our Young European Ambassadors (YEAs) from the Western Balkans have been doing what they do best – initiating activism towards social change. Their most recent video is about the EU’s Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, which aims to assist the region in tackling pollution and align the region’s environmental quality regulations with EU standards – key for aspiring EU members.

 

The YEAs have been focusing on the environmental issues they face every day, identifying the actions required to find green solutions – with many of their priorities mirrored by the Green Agenda’s commitments.  Some of their most pressing concerns include pollution, with air pollution levels in particular amongst the highest in Europe. YEAs also emphasise the need for greener energy production, better awareness of environmental issues, and stricter environmental policies and legislation.

 

Their activism on the Green Agenda has already reached wide audiences. In July, YEAs attended the EXIT music festival in Novi Sad, Serbia, where they met young people from around the world. Over two days they asked festival attendees about the environment, green diplomacy and the Western Balkans Green Agenda. Interviewees were also asked about their everyday efforts to make the planet and their community greener.

 

The green future of our planet is important for YEAs: it means the world to them, and it means the world to us all.

 

Watch the full video

 

Discover more the EU in action on the environment in the Western Balkans in our thematic section.

Dzulisa Otuzbir

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YEA of the Month September 2021

Dzulisa Otuzbir is a Young European Ambassador from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dzulisa is one of the strongest YEA voices when it comes to motivating youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina to be more active in the fields of regional cooperation and European affairs. Pursuing her Master’s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy at the University of Sarajevo, she has a great desire to join forces with young people who are willing to make positive changes in the region. Her moderation role at this year’s European Youth Event in Strasbourg was her shining moment, as she managed to make bridges and join young people from all over Europe together in discussion.

YEA “Voices from the Western Balkans” at EYE 2021

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Sixteen of the Western Balkan Young European Ambassadors (YEAs) – a creative network of future game changers – participated in this year’s European Youth Event (EYE) hosted by the European Parliament in Strasbourg. They joined thousands of young people from all over the European Union and beyond to engage in this year’s topic, “The future is ours”. The event was an opportunity for participants to make an active contribution to shape and share their ideas on the future of Europe – to feed into the citizen-led Conference on the Future of Europe process underway.

 

Amongst several activities taking place in different formats, the YEAs organised their own interactive workshop on 8 October, “Voices from the Western Balkans”. Addressing a capacity audience, the youth representatives presented the YEA network, the Western Balkan region, and their views on the most important topics for youth activism in the region. They underlined the importance of the YEA network as an exchange platform to share concerns and work together on pressing issues with peers across the region and beyond.

 

At a second event, one YEA from the Western Balkans and one YEA from the EU neighbourhood East region participated in a panel – “27+? Youth take on EU Neighbourhood Policy and enlargement” – with Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Željana Zovk. Discussions centred on what young people think about the EU’s role in its neighbourhood and on future EU enlargement.

 

The YEAs also attended dozens of other activities during the two-day event, from sessions on ‘how to green our lives’ to discussions on human rights and democracy. Rounding off, the YEA contributed to the YouthIdeas.eu platform – which will feed into the political debate of the Conference.

 

The EYE is a unique opportunity for 16- to 30-year-olds to interact in-person and online, inspiring each other and exchanging views with activists, influencers and decision-makers, right in the heart of European democracy.