Upon a formal expression of interest of Kosovo to associate to the EU Research & Innovation Framework Programme, the European Commission and Kosovo are currently engaged in exploratory talks to prepare the negotiations for association to Horizon Europe. The latest virtual exploratory meeting took place on 4 February 2021. Horizon Europe is an EU funded research and innovation framework programme running from 2021 to 2027.
The European Union is sending medical supplies, such as gloves, masks and overalls to Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia following their requests for assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
The procurement, storage and transport costs of the medical equipment under the EU-wide rescEU medical reserve are fully financed by the European Commission. Slovakia and Germany are also providing coronavirus related assistance to Montenegro and Serbia in response to their requests. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 30 countries have received aid in medical or personal protective equipment through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
Five young artists from Kosovo present their artwork in the virtual exhibition “New Year, New Artists, New Hopes” recently launched by the Europe House in Pristina. The artwork includes sculptures, conceptual art and paintings. The exhibition is launched in cooperation with the Faculty of Arts of the University of Pristina and can be visited virtually by clicking here.
The exhibition will remain open until the end of March 2021 for a virtual and in-person visit.
In January 2021, 34 families received keys to their newly constructed apartments worth close to €900,000 in the city of Tuzla of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The apartments were built with support of the Regional Housing Programme.
Most of the beneficiary families, who recently moved into their new apartments, had been forced to leave their homes in the city of Zvornik in the Eastern region of BiH during the war. Zejta Hamzabegovic is one of the beneficiaries. She had to move between several homes in Tuzla over the last 18 years and had recently struggled to pay rent from her monthly pension. Marvelling at her sudden good fortune, she laughed: “When I was told to come and collect the keys, it felt like I had been reborn. I can’t believe that this is my new life.”
The European Union is the main donor to the Regional Housing Programme (RHP) with €235 million. The RHP aims to provide approximately 11,800 homes to most-vulnerable refugee and displaced families across the Western Balkans. The total amount allocated for BiH by the European Union is €64 million. Within RHP, so far, 1,300 housing units have been delivered to the beneficiary families in BiH. The remaining 700 housing units are expected to be delivered by June 2022.
The call for applications for the 2021 EU Award for Roma [1] integration in the Western Balkans and Turkey is now open. This year’s edition of the award is dedicated to the extraordinary people that promote equality through employment.
The 2021 EU Roma Integration Award will promote private or public initiatives sensitive to the problem of lack of employment in the Roma communities, and offer recognition, publicity and support to positive models yielding tangible results.
The 2021 award confirms the EU’s commitment to support and recognise work on Roma integration. Gender equality and the empowerment of Roma women in the area of employment is an important dimension. The deadline for applications is 30 April 2021.
[1] In line with the terminology of European institutions the umbrella term ‘Roma’ is used here to refer to a number of different groups (e.g. Roma, Sinti, Kale, Gypsies, Romanichels, Boyash, Ashkali, Egyptians, Yenish, Dom, Lom, Rom, Abdal…) without denying the specificities of these groups.
Mental health in a time of pandemic and quality education were the topics of the first two debates that EU Ambassador to North Macedonia, David Geer, and his counterparts from Pristina and Belgrade had with high school students from North Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia. The debates show that the teenagers share similar concerns and aspirations, and that these types of meetings encourage them to be even more vocal about the issues they face and help those in charge to define solutions.
Young European Ambassadors Arjana Rudari, Eris Cunaku, Marko Milutinovic, and Anja Kafedziska, also took part in the discussions, and once again confirmed that young people – no matter where they came from – are united in their diversity.
The debates are organised by the EU Delegation to North Macedonia with the aim of highlighting the importance of joined problem-solving and being kind in times of need.
Three years ago, a group of young journalists in Serbia was having a tough time breaking into the job market after their studies. Most media outlets in the country could only offer unpaid internships and volunteer gigs. Frustrated by the lack of opportunities, the group decided to found a magazine by and for young people, which they called Oblakoder, meaning ‘skyscraper’ in Serbian.
Marina Zec, Oblakoder’s editor-in-chief, chose the name while sitting at a cafe in Belgrade with another founder of the magazine. “The rest of the team and I had the entire project in mind, the only thing missing was its name,” recalls Zec. “We decided not to leave the table until we found one”.
Zec explains that the word ‘oblakoder’ comes from ‘oblak’, or cloud, and evokes both the idea of having one’s head in the clouds and that of a modern city full of skyscrapers. This idea also inspired the website layout, which is shaped like a skyscraper.
At a press conference on 2 February 2021, the European Investment Bank Group (EIB) reported investment of €873 million in the Western Balkans in 2020, an increase of its financing in the region by 50% compared to 2019. This investment includes extensive support to the recovery from COVID-19 under the European Union’s Team Europe initiative to help the most affected sectors.
In line with the EU focus on connectivity, the majority of the investment, €531 million, was allocated to constructing and modernising transport infrastructure in the region, along with a €12 million grant provided under the EU Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) for Corridor Vc in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The EU bank supported a diversified portfolio of investments in key sectors for the region, including a €65 million investment for digitalising over 1 500 schools across Serbia and an €11 million investment for wastewater infrastructure in Kosovo which will improve access to water for some 90 000 people in the Gjilan/Gnjilane municipality.
In 2021, the Bank plans to deliver more support for climate action, SMEs’ recovery, connectivity, digital transformation, and projects encouraging inclusive employment.
The EIB is playing a leading role in Team Europe’s response to the COVID crisis, committing €1.7 billion of the €3.3 billion total announced at the EU-Western Balkans Zagreb Summit in May 2020. To date, the Bank has mobilised over €1 billion to accelerate the recovery from COVID-19 in the Western Balkans.
The ‘EU with You’ campaign includes a series of live debates named ‘My Story’ that address issues of concern for the young people in North Macedonia. While sharing personal experiences, participants will discuss topics ranging from youth activism and volunteering to fake news and protecting the environment.
The opening episode was on the EU-funded Erasmus + programme. The episode involved three high school students from Skopje, two Young European Ambassadors and the Director of the National Agency for European Educational Programmes and Mobility of North Macedonia.
The students presented their first-hand experience of Erasmus+ – participation in a seminar on renewable energy sources in Finland, while Young European Ambassadors, Sara Risteska and Aleksandar Karatosho, elaborated on how their professional skills had benefitted from their rich Erasmus experience.
The episode also included a video with practical tips for university students on how to apply for Erasmus + and a survey in which most of the interviewed students had either already participated in the programme or were in the process of application.
The next debate is on volunteering. The debates are due every Tuesday at 17:45. Follow them live on MTV1 or the EU Delegation and Europe House’s Facebook pages in North Macedonia.
Repair of a key stretch of railway in Albania is being supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with a €36.9 million loan which combines with an investment grant of up to €35.5 million from the European Union (EU) under its Connectivity Agenda for the Western Balkans, and an additional €2.75 million in grants from bilateral donors through the Western Balkans Investment Framework. More than 34 km of the existing railway track between Albania’s capital, Tirana, and the port of Durrës will be restored as part of this project. Durrës is the country’s largest port and an important regional hub for international trade, and the project will thus bring improvements not only to connectivity within the country but also to regional integration.
Additionally, a new five km-long rail track will be constructed connecting Tirana city to the Tirana International Airport. On a track with a current average of less than 60 km per hour, the repairs will allow for travel which is both faster and safer.