An EU-funded project is supporting the revival of a century-old railway for cycling and tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At the end of the 19thcentury, the Austro-Hungarian Empire initiated the construction of a railway that would connect the main towns of central Bosnia and Herzegovina. The works started in 1891 and within a few years the people of the region could travel by train.
For most of the population, this was a completely new experience. A train journey was also an exceptional sightseeing opportunity as the railway went through mountain gorges and past medieval castles and beautiful landscapes. The railway was in operation for almost 80 years until the authorities of socialist Yugoslavia decided in 1976 to shut down the line, close the stations and remove the rail tracks. The reason was the construction of new roads and the increase in motor vehicles and their use.
“People were emotionally attached to this railway.”
The revival
Miroslav Matošević lives in a suburb of the city of Travnik. His house is near the old railway and he remembers playing on the railway track and around the deserted train station as a child. “People were emotionally attached to this railway. I remember the stories that when the railway was shut down, some Catholic women from the region wore black scarves for months as a sign of mourning. Like for a member of the family,” he says.
Miroslav is now the head of the Central Bosnia Canton Tourist Organisation. Along with colleagues and a lead partnering organisation, the REZ Development Agency, he has undertaken an initiative to revive the old rail track, but for a different purpose. They are working on launching a 100-kilometre-long bike trail along the old railway and have successfully applied for support from a European Union and the German Government funded project.
The purpose of the Old Rail Trail project is to expand the offer for outdoor tourism in the region and enable longer stays for tourists visiting Central Bosnia during the summer.
Showcasing the region
The work includes the establishment of a bike trail on the route of the old railway, international promotion of the trail and the region, and networking of the businesses providing services in a cycling-friendly system. Miro is particularly fond of the innovative approach of this third component which includes launching a bike-friendly mobile app that would connect cyclists and local businesses – restaurants, hotels and others. In exchange for being part of the application, businesses would have to implement bike-friendly standards such as parking space for bikes, room for cyclists to change, and discounts for cyclists.
“It is unbelievable how many people were happy and praised us when we announced the launch of the project. ”
About the project
The Old Rail Trail is supported by the European Union and the German Government through the EU4Business project in BIH and implemented by the Regional Development Agency (REZ) and Central Bosnia Canton Tourist Association, and Nesa Sistem d.o.o. Travnik.
EU4Business aims to stimulate the development of entrepreneurship, export-oriented sectors, tourism and agriculture in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The overall funding budget of EU4Business is €16 million and it is jointly funded by the European Union (€15 million) and the Federal Republic of Germany (€1.1 million). The project is jointly implemented by GIZ, ILO and UNDP and will end by March 2022.
The trail will run on the same path as the old railway and will pass five towns of the Central Bosnia Canton: Busovača, Donji Vakuf, Jajce, Travnik and Vitez. Cyclists will be able to stop and visit these towns but also cultural heritage monuments such as medieval Travnik castle.
“It is unbelievable how many people were happy and praised us when we announced the launch of the project. Obviously, aside from the economic benefit there is also an emotional connection and memory,” says Miroslav.
The Old Rail Trail is supported by the European Union EU4Business project and implemented by the Regional Development Agency (REZ) and Central Bosnia Canton Tourist Association, and Nesa Sistem d.o.o. Travnik.
The awarded projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina will provide young people in the region with networking opportunities in regional youth dialogue, peacebuilding and reconciliation.
One of the projects developed by Youth for Peace will address the need for capacity building in peacebuilding and regional dialogue among youth workers and civil society organisations. The other project, which will be implemented by Balkan Investigative Reporting Regional Network (BIRN) aims to address the lack of communication opportunities for youth in the region so they can share their common past stories and experiences by moving forward with the reconciliation process.
The projects are funded under the 4th Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) Open Call for Project Proposals supported by the European Union.
The overall objective of the fourth RYCO Open Call for Project Proposals is to support the civil society in the Western Balkans to foster reconciliation and regional youth cooperation during and post COVID-19 crisis. The call aims to contribute to increasing the capacities of CSOs that can implement regional youth-related projects and provide new opportunities for young people.
The Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) is an independently functioning institutional mechanism, founded by Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, aiming to promote the spirit of reconciliation and cooperation between the youth in the region through youth exchange programs. RYCO is financed by the governments of the region, and it is supported by the EU and other donors.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will continue to invest in the social and economic development of North Macedonia, while supporting the faster economic recovery of the country’s economy and its backbone – small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – from the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the main conclusion from the meeting that EIB President Werner Hoyer and Vice-President Lilyana Pavlova had with North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev. The EIB presented plans to boost support from Team Europe, expand cooperation, step up its activities in North Macedonia and support the European Commission’s rollout of its Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans.
The EU bank is ready to expand its successful cooperation with the Government of North Macedonia, contribute further to the competitiveness of the country’s economy, and support significant infrastructure projects and the transition towards a greener and more sustainable economic model. To date, the EIB has invested close to €970 million in 29 projects in North Macedonia, supporting key sectors of the economy – infrastructure, energy, transport and SMEs.
As part of the overall EU efforts under Team Europe to mitigate the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EIB mobilised over €1 billion for the economies of the Western Balkans in 2020 alone. These funds are part of the EIB’s €1.7 billion contribution to the Team Europe package of €3.3 billion announced by the European Commission at the Zagreb EU Western Balkans Summit in May 2020.
Launched in mid-March 2021, the South East Europe Youth Newsroom, aims to serve as a bridge between young journalists and youth to foster trust in media. The newsroom will act as a network, providing participants with opportunities to work in a team and report on activities supported by UNESCO and the EU on freedom of expression.
Created under the UNESCO EU-funded project “Building Trust in Media in South East Europe and Turkey – Phase 2,” the SEE Youth Newsroom bring together 31 young journalists aged between 22 and 30 years old from across the whole region. The newsroom will also serve as a platform to highlight their work and stories, and offer training on diverse topics from fact-checking to professional standards for journalists.
“Youth’s perspective is often missing in the journalistic reporting of the region. Gathering young and aspiring journalists and equipping them with additional tools to express themselves professionally is a unique opportunity for bridging this gap,” said Alma Fejzić from the Centre for Development of Youth Activism (CROA), UNESCO’s partner in Sarajevo in charge of establishing the SEE Youth Newsroom.
The network is established by the Centre for Development of Youth Activism to allow the young journalists to work together, report on issues related to freedom of expression, and improve their journalism skills. The idea is to involve this network to cover global or regional conferences such as the World Press Freedom Day or the Global MIL Week to produce quality multi-media coverage of these events and raise awareness on these issues among youth in the region.
The construction of the Corridor Vc motorway, a priority infrastructure project in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is progressing further with new financing from the European Union. A new €20.7 million grant provided by the EU will support the completion of the construction works on two sections: Buna-Pocitelj and tunnel Zenica-Donja Gracanica.
In addition to building modern transport infrastructure, the project also contributes to improving road safety in the country by achieving three-star safety standard by the International Road Assessment Program – one of the first projects in the region to receive it. The project also enhances the sustainability of motorway construction and management, as well as procurement procedures in the public motorway company.
The grant funds have been secured through the EU-supported Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), which aims to improve the region’s connectivity by building new transport links and upgrading outdated transport and environmental infrastructure.
The development of Corridor Vc is a strategic priority for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The 325 km motorway will cross the country from the border with Croatia near port of Ploce in the south to the border with Croatia in the north, contributing towards faster economic and social development. It is currently the biggest construction project in the country. It is estimated to cost approximately €3.7 billion.
The European Commission has allocated almost €12 million to Serbia in additional financial support to help in the fight against Covid-19. These funds will be used for emergency support to the population, measures for prevention, monitoring and control of the spread of the disease, and for medical and personal protective equipment. The funds will also serve to reimburse expenses incurred previously by Serbia in the fight against the pandemic.
The donation comes from the European Solidarity Fund (EUSF). It is part of a larger package of €530 million to cover 17 EU member states and three EU candidate countries. The financial contribution proposed by the Commission has now to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council. The financial aid will then be disbursed to the applicant countries.
The EU Solidarity Fund is available to EU member states, but also to EU candidate countries, such as Serbia. It can be activated in cases of major natural disasters or public health emergencies that cause great direct damage or require the containment of significant public financial expenditures. Serbia has benefited from the EU Solidarity Fund in the past, after the 2014 floods.
The EU is by far the largest investor, the largest trading partner and the largest donor to Serbia. With more than €3 billion in non-refundable aid to Serbia in the past two decades, the EU supports Serbia to become a more prosperous, sustainable, fairer, safer, democratic society, and thus ready to join the Union.
On 11 March, the European Commission put forward a package of almost €530 million in additional financial support under the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF). It will contribute to efforts deployed by 17 EU Member States, and three accession countries (Albania, Montenegro and Serbia) to safeguard public health in fighting the pandemic.
This funding will support part of their public expenditure on medical and personal protective equipment, emergency support to the population, and prevention, monitoring and control measures.
EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira said: “The EU Solidarity Fund is a concrete demonstration of European solidarity in action. Since its creation, it has delivered effective assistance and relief to millions of people during difficult times. Last year, we extended its scope to cover major health emergencies. Now we are proposing to mobilise much needed coronavirus-related financial assistance. The EUSF is once again accomplishing its core mission.”
Next steps
The financial contribution proposed by the Commission has now to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council. The financial aid will then be disbursed to the applicant countries.
On 10 March, the Mother Teresa University Hospital in Tirana received a CT (computed tomography) scanner, as part of the EU’s €4.2 million emergency support programme, EU4Health. The CT scanner will be crucial in both the prevention and the fight against COVID 19, serving to both investigate conditions of COVID-19 hospitalised patients and supporting laboratory diagnostics and testing.
EU Ambassador to Albania, Luigi Soreca, and Albanian Minister of Health and Social Protection, Ogerta Manastirliu, were present at the delivery of this advanced equipment to the hospital’s radiology department. During his address, Ambassador Soreca expressed his appreciation to all the doctors and nurses of the four COVID-19 structures in Tirana, Durres, Shkodra and Elbasan, as well as to the epidemiologists, biologists and researchers of the Institute of Public Health for their hard work in this fight against the pandemic outbreak:
“I am proud that the EU can be at your side. These are very difficult times in all countries of the world, and certainly in the EU. Even in these difficult times, the EU and its Member States have kept their commitment and support to Albania, and this delivery is the concrete example of this strong bond. While this one contract ends today, the EU continues to be at the side of Albania with other crucial interventions against the pandemic, including on vaccines.”
Since its launch in April 2020, the €4.2 million EU4Health programme, implemented by the United Nations Office for Projects and Services (UNOPS), has ensured the procurement of specialised medical equipment and devices for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 for Albanian hospitals.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has extended a €10 million mortgage credit line toIntesa Sanpaolo Banka d.d. Bosnia and Herzegovinafor further lending to private borrowers for housing purposes. The new credit line is aimed to address the growing demand for mortgages in the BiH and is an extension of a €15 million mortgage line approved in July 2019.
With this support from the EBRD, customers of the bank will be able to get more favourable loans to improve housing conditions, achieve better energy efficiency, and purchase a property.
Since 1996, the EBRD has invested more than €2.7 billion in 191 projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The tender for the construction of the new gas supply pipeline connecting the city of Niš with the Bulgarian capital Sofia Construction has been published. The gas pipeline’s projected capacity will allow for the transfer of 1.8 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually. The construction of the gas pipeline on the Serbian side will be funded with the support of the European Union with over € 49 million. In addition, the project will be financed through a loan of the European Investment Bank (EIB), the bank of the EU, with € 25 million.
This project will significantly increase the amount of gas supply to households, thus considerably contributing to Serbia’s energy security and cleaner environment.
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