Skip to main content

Author: WeBalkans

EU funded training on fact-checking for Kosovo journalists

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

BIRN – the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network – Kosovo, in partnership with the International Press Institute, IPI, organised a two-day training course on tackling disinformation and establishing fact-checking methods. Thirty-four journalists attended the online course, organised as part of the EU-funded project, “Solidifying the Resilience of Kosovo’s Current and Future Journalists”.

 

On day one, Carina Van Wyk, Head of Education and Training at Africa Check, Africa’s first independent fact-checking organisation, introduced the topic, “Dealing with the (mis)infodemic.” Van Wyk explained how false information spreads and outlined tips and tools for identifying fake news. The second day was covered by Eoghan Sweeney, an open-source investigation specialist and trainer. Over the past decade, Sweeney has helped to establish and develop digital verification and fact-checking operations at media organisations across the globe. The session covered various topics, including geo-locating content and techniques that help figure out the precise location shown in a content piece.

 

The overall purpose of this project is to bring together the wider community of journalists and media professionals and increase the awareness and support of the public for professional journalism, to solidify a sustainable democracy in Kosovo.

Erasmus+ brings over €26.2 billion to support mobility and cooperation

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

The new Erasmus programme 2021-2027 has been launched. The first annual work programme and the call for 2021 have also been published. The programme’s budget is €26.2 billion, a significant increase compared with €14.7 billion for 2014-2020. This will be complemented by about €2.2 billion from the EU’s external instruments.

 

With this increased budget, Erasmus+ will be more inclusive, more digital, and greener. It will also include DiscoverEU, which offers 18 year-olds the possibility to get a European rail pass to travel, learn from other cultures and meet fellow Europeans.

EU provides up to €60 million in highly favourable loans to Montenegro

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

The European Commission has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Montenegro and provided the first instalment of the support in the form of highly favourable loans worth €30 million, intended for limiting the economic fallout of the COVID-19 epidemic.

 

This is only part of the support available to Montenegro within of the Macro-Financial Assistance Programme worth up to €60 million. This form of support complements the previously approved €53 million, which the European Union granted to Montenegro for the procurement of urgent medical equipment and to assist socially underprivileged individuals, entrepreneurs, companies, the health sector and others that have been most seriously impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.

 

The disbursement of the second and final instalment loan support, up to the €60 million total , will be conditional on Montenegro meeting the requirements specified in the MoU, including strengthening public finance, fight against corruption, enhancing financial stability, improving the business environment, and social protection reform. The assistance programme will be available for a period of 12 months.

 

The Macro-Financial Assistance Programme for Montenegro is part of a €3 billion MFA package that the Commission proposed for ten enlargement and neighbourhood partners to help limit the economic fallout of the pandemic.

Jean Monnet Media Award

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

The Delegation of the European Union to North Macedonia and the Independent Trade Union of Journalists and Media Workers have announced the 18th edition of the Jean Monnet Media Award. This year, the award will recognise achievements in covering issues related to the theme of “EU solidarity during the pandemic: expectations and possibilities”.   The Jean Monnet Award will be given in three competition categories:  
  1. Best Journalistic News Item (for news items published in print media, broadcast media and/or web);
  2. Best Reporter Photography (for photographs published in print media and/or web);
  3. Best Amateur Photography.
  A five-member jury committee will choose the winners. The awarding ceremony will be held on 28 April 2021.

COVID-19: EU delivers medical items to Montenegro and North Macedonia

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

The EU is mobilising its RescEU medical reserve to distribute 1.2 million items of personal protective equipment to North Macedonia and Montenegro to help them cope with the pandemic. The items will be delivered from the RescEU medical reserves hosted in Germany, Belgium, Greece and Romania.

 

The strategic medical reserve is part of the wider RescEU component, created under the umbrella of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. It includes a fleet of firefighting and medical evacuation planes, as well as a stockpile of medical equipment and field hospitals that can respond to health emergencies. The reserve is hosted by several Member States, who are responsible for procuring the equipment.

 

Background

 

Participating countries can request assistance from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism when the scale of an emergency overwhelms the possibilities of a country to respond on its own. It can be activated for all types of natural and man-made hazards.

 

The Mechanism has coordinated and co-financed the delivery of over 23 million items of assistance to 31 countries to support their COVID-19 response, including personal protective equipment, ventilators, the reinforcement of medical staff, or, more recently, vaccines.

EIB provides €40 million for improving the urban transport of Sarajevo

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) – the EU’s lending arm – is providing €40 million for the reconstruction of the urban transport network in the Canton of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The financing will enable the modernisation and extension of the tram and trolley bus networks by replacing existing vehicles and building new tramlines and tracks. These improvements will significantly increase safety and reduce traffic congestion and air pollution in Sarajevo and the surrounding municipalities.

 

Establishing a more efficient and reliable public transit system is expected to enable a shift of passengers from private to public transport modes. As a result, it will reduce commute times, greenhouse gas emissions, noise levels and the number of traffic accidents in the Canton of Sarajevo. The project will contribute to the fulfilment of the EU Strategy for the Western Balkans and the EIB’s climate action goals for the region relating to sustainable transport.

 

The Head of the EU Delegation and EU Special Representative in BiH, Ambassador Johann Sattler, said: “Urban mobility and sustainable, green public transportation are high on the agenda of the European Union. This project will support a shift to more environmentally-friendly public transportation and provide citizens with more affordable, accessible, healthier and cleaner alternatives in Sarajevo. As such, it is also contributing to the collective effort to reduce air pollution, a major threat to climate and citizens’ health.”

Call for applications for students and young journalists in Kosovo

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and the International Press Institute (IPI) have opened a Call for Applications for the second two-day training course on fact-checking and tackling disinformation as part of the EU-funded project, “Solidifying the Resilience of Kosovo’s Current and Future Journalists”.

 

The IPI will bring two experienced media professionals to administer the training course and share their knowledge and experience with Kosovo journalists and journalism and social sciences students. Trainers include Carina van Wyk, head of education and training at Africa Check, Africa’s first independent fact-checking organisation, and Eoghan Sweeney, an open-source investigation specialist and trainer who over the past decade has helped to establish and develop digital verification and fact-checking operations at media organisations across the globe.

 

Based on the joint experience, BIRN and the IPI aim to help the next generation of Kosovo journalists to tackle disinformation and fake news, and conduct reporting that meets international fact-checking standards.

 

This is the second time that BIRN partners with IPI, an EU-based global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, to help improve standards in Kosovo journalism. The first edition, held in December 2020 gathered a total of 36 participants. BIRN is the only media organisation in Kosovo certified by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN).

 

The deadline to submit applications is 21 March, while the maximum number of participants is set at 40. Candidates from all parts of Kosovo are encouraged to apply. However, priority will be given to younger journalists with less experience in the described field.

RCC and Serbia’s Foreign Minister discuss regional cooperation

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) hosted the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Nikola Selaković to discuss the regional cooperation and the implementation of the Common Regional Market Action Plan.

 

RCC’s Secretary General, Majlinda Bregu emphasised that regional cooperation was and remains the primary driving tool for developing the region. “This is also reflected in the opinion of 69% of Western Balkan businesses, which believe the quality of regional cooperation is important for the quality of their business,” said Bregu.

 

Bregu and Selaković discussed the need for having a regional health cooperation mechanism that would administer the COVID-19 vaccines, exchange of health workers, medicines, and even patients. Minister Selaković praised the work of the RCC and its efforts in establishing the Green Lanes, an initiative supported by the European Commission that accelerates the flow of goods, especially food, medicines and medical equipment within the region and between the region and the EU in the time of lockdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

 

Both interlocutors expressed the commitment to focus on the deliverables of the Common Regional Market Action Plan for the upcoming Berlin Process Summit of WB6 that is to take place in Germany this summer. Minister Selakovic visited the RCC in its Sarajevo headquarters as part of his visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is co-funded by the European Union.

EBRD and EU launch energy efficiency programme for homes in Montenegro

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is launching a new Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) in Montenegro that will provide loans to households for energy efficiency improvements.

 

The programme will deliver over €27 million in incentives to end borrowers provided by the European Union through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF). Technical assistance to support the preparation, implementation and monitoring of the programme is supported by grants from  the government of Austria with over €5 million and additional nearly €2 million by bilateral donors to the WBIF.

 

The financing is part of a larger €135 million Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) programme for the Western Balkans. GEFF is implemented under the umbrella of the Regional Energy Efficiency Programme for the Western Balkans (REEP Plus), funded by the EU and delivered in partnership with the Energy Community Secretariat.

 

The investments will help to make households more energy efficient, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve living standards. Households can select the technologies they wish to invest in, including thermal insulation, double-glazed windows, high-efficiency boilers, heat pumps, solar collectors/solar water heaters and photovoltaic systems.

 

To date, around 7,000 households in the Western Balkans have improved their energy efficiency thanks to GEFF with investments in projects that contributed to reducing over 10,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year, equivalent to removing 6000 cars from the street.

EU Ambassador to Serbia Fabrizi meets President Vučić

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

The Ambassador of the European Union to Serbia, Sem Fabrizi, met Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić on 17 March to discuss the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccination process, the dynamics of accession negotiations, as well as stability in the region.

 

Ambassador Fabrizi assured President Vučić that the EU would continue to support Serbia’s efforts to fight COVID-19 emphasising that the European Commission announced the allocation of €12 million for Serbia from the EU Solidarity Fund, which is another indicator of the EU’s support for Serbia since the outbreak of the pandemic. The Ambassador commented positively on Serbia’s contribution to the COVAX programme and congratulated Serbia on the results achieved in the vaccination process and the timely measures taken in the fight against the coronavirus.

 

President Vučić thanked the EU for its support to Serbia and expressed hope that the first contingents of vaccines from the COVAX programme will arrive soon.

 

Ambassador Fabrizi pointed out that despite the current challenges caused by the pandemic, the EU keeps the issue of enlargement very high on its agenda, given the new methodology to be presented by the European Commission. President Vučić also confirmed that cooperation with the European Union and full membership of Serbia remains one of the key foreign policy priorities of the country.