The European Union Office in Kosovo is seeking proposals to support start-ups to improve their competitiveness and invest in innovation. Through this support, the EU aims to strengthen the Kosovo economy by supporting the creation and growth of startups via the incubation process. The specific objectives of the call include strengthening the existing incubators and/or support the creation of new ones, increasing the number and the sustainability of innovative and growth-oriented startups, in particular women- and young women and men-led startups and support for establishment of a good digital innovation ecosystem for startups with strengthened links with the EU ecosystem.
The call is open for an existing business incubator and/or accelerators (public or non-governmental entity/organisation) and public or non-governmental entities who intend to establish a new incubator and/or accelerator. The applicants must be experienced in the field of provision of business incubation and business support services.
The IPA Cross-border Cooperation Programme Albania-Kosovo has launched its third call for proposals. Through projects implemented under this call, the programme aims to strengthen good neighbourly relations and foster environmentally friendly and socially inclusive economic development of the bordering regions by promoting touristic potential and respect for common cultural and natural heritage.
The thematic priorities of this call are as follows:
-Protecting the Environment, Promoting Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, Risk Prevention and Management
-Encouraging Tourism and Cultural and Natural Heritage
The total funds available under this call are €1.6 million
The call is open to legal persons and non-profit organisations established in Montenegro and Kosovo, including local governments, business support organisations, tourism and cultural organisations, NGOs, educational establishments, research centres and others.
Find out all details on eligibility and how to apply in the link.
The IPA Cross-border Cooperation programme Montenegro-Kosovo 2014-2020 has launched its third call for proposals. Through projects implemented under this call, the programme aims to improve the living standard of the people in the area by promoting environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive economic development of the region, with respect for its common cultural and natural heritage.
The thematic priorities of this call are:
-Promoting employment, labour mobility and social and cultural inclusion across borders
-Protecting the environment, promoting climate change adaptation and mitigation, risk prevention and management
Encouraging tourism and cultural and natural heritage.
The total funds available under this call are €3.48 million.
The call is open to legal persons and non-profit organisations established in Montenegro and Kosovo, including local governments, business support organisations, tourism and cultural organisations, NGOs, educational establishments, research centres and others.
The deadline for submitting project proposals is 25 June 2021. Find out all details on eligibility and how to apply in the link.
The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN, is organising a three-day interactive workshop on truth-seeking and reconciliation as an exercise in storytelling. The workshop will be led by BIRN’s award-winning journalists and editors. It will examine how to avoid the trap of producing stories that trivialise war crimes and victims’ experiences and foster impunity. Participants will also learn how to create safe, non-partisan and compassionate space for victims who are sharing their stories. The call is open for young people from any discipline who are interested in these topics.
Storytelling is crucial to transitional justice because it has the power to reveal atrocities and hidden personal memories that can be used to encourage further sharing of similar experiences. For victims of war crimes and atrocities, storytelling has a healing aspect, as it gives them a voice and recognises their experiences and traumas.
Following the workshop, BIRN will provide funding and mentoring to participants to produce their own oral history video stories. The workshop will be held in line with the current coronavirus health regulations. BIRN and its partner(s) are supported by RYCO within the 4th Open Call for Project Proposals co-financed by the European Union.
The training course “Balkan Messengers- The Role of Media in Creating Alternative Narratives” is open to young people aged 18 to 30 from Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia. The training will take place in Kratovo, North Macedonia, from 15 June to 21 June 2021. The training course is primarily designed to assist youth activists in using new media (mainly podcasts, memes, and videos) to combat nationalism, sexism, and homophobia. Therefore, young people with a background in activism, young podcasters, youth social media influencers, and any other young people interested in expanding their horizons in the following topics are invited to apply.
“Balkan Messengers – The Role of Media in Creating Alternative Narratives” training course is designed as a seven-day intensive educational program. During the training, the participants will be educated through non-formal education methodologies, including simulations, case studies, role-playing, plenary and group discussion, reflection exercises, and media working stations.
The course is organised by Association for Educational Development EKVALIS and its partner(s), Ardhmeria Youth Center and Balkan Idea Novi Sad, who are supported by RYCO within the 4th Open Call for Project Proposals co-financed by the European Union.
The EU funded project “Reducing the impact of local communities in the cross-border region of Serbia and Montenegro on climate challenges – WE CAN”, organised a study visit to see the good practices on reducing the impact of climate change. The participants included project partners and other stakeholders.
During the two-day study visit in Kraljevo in Serbia, the participants had the opportunity to get acquainted with the measures taken by the city of Kraljevo to reduce the negative impact of climate change, especially on the emission of harmful gases. Following this, the participants visited the public energy company “Toplana”, where they were introduced with the achievements on improving the efficiency of the system for production of thermal energy. They also had the opportunity to get acquainted with the activities carried out on installing a 50kW solar power plant by the project “WE CAN”.
The project is implemented by the Ibar Development Association “IDA” Kraljevo, Public Energy Company “Toplana” Kraljevo, “Grijanje” Ltd Pljevlja and NGO Centar ekoloških inicijativa Berane.
Following the adoption of the work programme for the first year of the Creative Europe 2021-2027 programme, the European Commission has launched new actions to support the cultural and creative sectors in Europe and beyond. The total programme budget of €2.4 billion over seven years has increased by 63% compared to the previous one.
In 2021, Creative Europe programme will allocate an unprecedented budget of around €300 million to help professionals and artists from all cultural sectors to collaborate across disciplines and borders, to find more opportunities and to reach new audiences. This allocation lays the foundations for the first calls for proposals under the new programme. The calls will be open to all organisations active in the relevant cultural and creative sectors. Creative Europe also aims to increase the competitiveness of cultural sectors while supporting their efforts to become greener, more digital and more inclusive. Special attention is given to reinforcing the resilience and recovery of the cultural and creative sectors in light of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Actions covered by Creative Europe include:
-A scheme to support the translation of literary works and the development of publishing partnerships
-EU Prizes in the fields of literature, music, architecture, and cultural heritage, as well as the European Capitals of Culture and European Heritage Label initiatives
-Strengthening the accessibility and visibility of European audiovisual works across platforms and borders
-Creative Innovation Lab – encouraging innovative approaches to content creation, distribution, and promotion across different sectors
-Promotion of media literacy, pluralism and freedom as European values.
A Montenegrin company increases its export, revenue, and staff with EU support
Dry-cured ham is a specialty of Njeguši, a village near the city of Cetinje in Montenegro. It is known for its particular flavour and aroma which is the result of the mixture of sea and mountain air and beech wood burned during the drying process. It is a familiar flavour for Montenegrins and visitors to the country, and now a company from Montenegro is working on introducing it across the Western Balkan region and wider market.
Mediteranea is a medium-sized Montenegrin family business owned by husband and wife Marija and Ivan Špadijer. The company started small as a distributor of meat products in 2006 and has increased its revenue gradually, with Njeguški prosciutto becoming one of their main products. Ivan explains that the prosciutto requires complex production: the curing process includes salting with sea salt for about three weeks, pressing to remove excess liquid for a further three weeks, and light smoking and drying in the cool mountain breeze for three months followed by maturing. The whole process takes about a year.
“Our subcontractors were not able to meet these requests properly so we decided to take over and do the packaging on our own”
For around ten years, Mediteranea purchased the prosciutto from producers in the Njeguši area and it was packaged by other subcontractors. The business was going well, and the market was expanding but this growth came with challenges. The quality of the raw product was constant but the company started having issues with the packaging. Ivan explains that they started receiving requests from customers for improved quality of packaging. “Our subcontractors weren’t able to meet these requests properly so we decided to take over and do the packaging on our own,” he says.
For this they needed additional equipment and facilities as this was a new area for the company. Initially they invested with their own capacities but this was not enough to meet demand. They therefore decided to apply for support from the EU’s Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance for Rural Development, IPARD. As a result, they received almost €35,000 of additional equipment including a packaging machine and two electric chain cranes, lifting to heights of up to 11 metres.
“If it wasn’t for the EU’s support through IPARD, we would be still struggling. The support made us more independent and helped us take control of the destiny and success of our company.”
About the programme
Part of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) designed to support reforms in countries in the process of joining the EU, the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance for Rural Development (IPARD) focuses on the agri-food sectors of those countries and rural areas. Through this tool, the EU provides beneficiaries with financial and technical help to make their agricultural sector and rural areas more sustainable, aligning them with the EU’s common agricultural policy.
Mediteranea now produces and distributes over 50 tonnes of final products annually. They have many clients, among them hotel and restaurants and supermarket chains. Around 90% of their revenue comes from export. While the production is still covered by subcontractors in the Njeguši area, the packaging and distribution is now fully covered by the company. They have also doubled the size of their team from four to eight and are planning to increase it further.
Ivan explains that the EU support was crucial to this success story. ”If it wasn’t for the EU’s support through IPARD, we would be still struggling. The support received from IPARD made us more independent and helped us take control of the destiny and success of our company,” he says.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) – the EU’s lending arm – signed a cooperation agreement with the Canton of Sarajevo and the University of Sarajevo to support the development of a master plan for the main campus in the city centre. The €500 000 grant is being provided under the Urban Projects Finance Initiative (UPFI) in partnership with the French development bank AFD, and financed by the EIB’s Economic Resilience Initiative (ERI). The grant will enable the preparation of a master plan and feasibility study for the integration of different educational and scientific research units of the University of Sarajevo into one consolidated campus.
The strategy to be developed under the ERI technical assistance will consist of the redevelopment of the former army barracks in the centre of Sarajevo along with the construction of faculties, institutes, other facilities and the accompanying infrastructure, resulting in the creation of a high-quality campus area. It will ensure improved facilities for students and academic staff, as well as effective collaboration between faculties, academies and research institutes.
The entire future project cost is estimated in the range of €120 million to €160 million. Apart from education facilities, the project will also cover the accompanying infrastructure, such as roads, car parks and garages, and public greenery. Particular attention will be paid to the energy efficiency of the buildings and to management arrangements, including the training of management and maintenance staff during the project implementation.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) inNorth Macedoniawill be able to access €4 million to help them become more competitive, thanks to a new EBRD loan extended toOhridska Banka. SMEs can also obtain technical assistance, including hands-onEBRD advisory support. After successfully completing their investment, they will also be eligible for a cashback grant of 15 per cent of the total loan amount, funded by theEuropean Union.
The loan to Ohridska Banka is a part of theWestern Balkans SME Competitiveness Support Programme, to which the EBRD provides loans and the EU contributes incentive payments and technical assistance. The goal is to help SMEs modernise their activities and take advantage of trade opportunities in the Western Balkans region and wider European market.
Ambassador David Geer, Head of Delegation of the European Union, said: “Access to finance is essential for the future growth and development SMEs in North Macedonia. This support is part and parcel of our continuing efforts to promote a positive business climate for SMEs and thereby stimulate the creation of jobs and economic recovery”.
The EBRD is a major institutional investor in North Macedonia. To date, the Bank has invested €2.14 billion through 145 projects in the country, where it focuses on the expansion of the local private sector, the promotion of regional and international integration and the sustainable use of resources.
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