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Author: WeBalkans

Connecting Europe: Commission signs high-level agreements with Western Balkans to improve transport links

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On 16 May, the Commission signed high-level agreements with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. The agreements adapt the trans-European transport network (TEN-T), the EU’s network of railway lines, roads, ports and inland waterways connecting EU towns and cities, by linking it to the Western Balkans. This is a major step towards greater transport connectivity between the European Union and our Western Balkan partners.  
Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean, said: “With the signature of these agreements, and with our proposal for a Western Balkans European Transport Corridor, we are laying the ground to integrate the transport network of the Western Balkans into the EU’s. It will promote the development of sustainable and resource-efficient transport connectivity between the EU and these countries. The importance of closer and seamless transport connections cannot be underestimated.”   
The Transport Community, which brings together the EU Member States represented by the  Commission and the Western Balkan partners, actively supports the execution of projects connecting the six countries with each other, and with the EU.  
The integration of the Western Balkan transport networks into the TEN-T will also help prepare EU candidate countries and potential candidates for their future accession to the EU.

Connectivity Summit “Sustainable Links-Stronger Economy”

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Efficient transportation of people and goods ensures access to jobs and services and enables trade and economic growth in the economies. This was a key message at the Connectivity Summit, organised by the Transport Community Permanent Secretariat and the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) Secretariat, under the auspices of the Ministry of Capital Investments of Montenegro. Deputy Prime Minister Ervin Ibrahimovic and the Director General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations Gert-Jan Koopman opened the Summit, that gathered Transport Ministers, Customs Directors, International Financial Institutions and other high-level representatives, experts and stakeholders from Western Balkans region to discuss and agree on moving forward the issues related to sustainable and efficient trade, transport and logistics.

 

The high-level Understanding on Indicative TEN-T Maps in the Western Balkans was signed by the EU and the Transport Community Treaty contracting parties. The establishment of the new Western Balkans- Eastern Mediterranean Corridor aims to strengthen region’s economic, social and territorial cohesion and create seamless transport systems across borders, without physical gaps, bottlenecks or missing links. The Joint CEFTA-TCT Declaration “Taking Forward the Green Lanes”, committing to further facilitate transport and trade with aim to reduce waiting times and improve the efficiency of the EU logistic and value chains, has been also endorsed. It will give further impetus to all relevant authorities to work on full extension of the Green Lanes and establishing one-stop and synchronised border controls.

Launch of new project to enhance judicial cooperation within and with the Western Balkans

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The Western Balkans Criminal Justice Project – WBCJ – kicked off today with a launch conference attended by high-level representatives of the regional partners and several EU institutions. Funded by the European Commission and implemented by Eurojust, the initiative aims to strengthen judicial cooperation within the Western Balkans as well as between the region and the EU in the fight against organised crime and terrorism. Participants are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

 

Today’s launch conference marked the end of the inception phase and the official start of the Project’s operational activities. The conference was attended by delegations of the Western Balkan partners as well as representatives of the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations and the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers and the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

 

The WBCJ Project (full title: Enhancing cross-border cooperation in criminal justice in the Western Balkans) is an IPA III project with a budget of EUR 6 million and a duration of four years (with a possible extension). It revolves around a Contact Group of practitioners from the Western Balkan region who are responsible for identifying common cases that would benefit from enhanced coordination. These selected cases receive financial support and expert advice from Eurojust to facilitate coordinated parallel investigations/prosecutions and joint investigation teams. The inception phase started in September 2022 with a number of high-level consultation visits by the Eurojust Presidency to the six Western Balkan partners, the establishment of both the Eurojust Project Team and the Contact Group, and the adoption of the first work plan.

 

Through the WBCJ Project, Eurojust seeks to further engage with its partners in the Western Balkans and to bring the EU’s judicial cooperation tools closer to practitioners in the region as well as to build trust between the relevant judicial actors.

BIRN launches call for applications for a three-day training course on legally safe and crisis reporting

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BIRN Kosovo has opened a new call for applications for its first three-day training course on legally safe reporting and crisis reporting, as part of the EU-funded project “Strengthening Quality News and Independent Journalism in the Western Balkans and Turkey II”. Considering the fragile state of democracy in the Western Balkans, skills in crisis reporting such as covering riots and protests but also elections are essential for maintaining high professional standards, as well as for maintaining the personal safety of journalists.

 

Journalists are often targeted by smear campaigns in the tabloid press and social media for doing their work professionally. They also face difficulties in preserving their digital security and keeping their work and sources safe. This regional training is designed to answer these challenges by using a multi-sector approach, involving experts in different related fields to share their knowledge and skills. Practical simulations will take place in order to demonstrate adequate techniques for responding to attacks, as well as how to act pre-emptively.

 

The aim of the regional training camp is to provide journalists with specialized knowledge that helps them protect themselves and their newsrooms from different kinds of attacks, including physical attacks, legal actions such as Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation – SLAPP lawsuits, as well as to preserve their digital security. A wide range of trainers and guest speakers will administer the sessions including BIRN managing editors and other external guest speakers.

New opportunities for vulnerable communities through the socially responsible public procurement

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A panel discussion “Can Socially Responsible Initiatives offer new opportunities to vulnerable communities?” took place on 27 April in Brussels. The event aimed to shed light on the potential of socially responsible public procurement to create new opportunities for vulnerable communities, including Roma communities, while promoting gender equality and sustainable infrastructure.

 

The WBIF pilot project was the focal point of the discussion, exploring how socially responsible public procurement can create new employment opportunities, with a focus on Roma communities. The panel featured experts from the European Commission, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and Roma Entrepreneurship Development Initiative (REDI), among others.

 

The panel discussion, moderated by Petrica Dulgheru, Director of REDI, included Álvaro Gutiérrez Maestrof rom Secretariado Gitano in Spain, who shared good practices and provided examples of how initiatives in Spain could be transferred to other countries in the region. The panellists also discussed the challenges of implementing socially responsible public procurement in the region, including the lack of awareness and understanding of the concept. They acknowledged the importance of increasing awareness and education around the concept and discussed potential solutions to address these challenges. The event was held as part of Roma Week 2023 in the European Parliament, which is dedicated to discussing the issues and challenges facing Roma communities across Europe.

Europe House in the Universe of Children’s Imagination

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Around fifty children learned about clean energy and screen printing at Europe House in Montenegro. The imaginary being, “lmagi”, is made of 4 elements used as clean energy sources. The children have shown us how he looks in Europe House today.

 

In partnership with the “Moj Imaginarium” drawing school, Europe House organised an art workshop, “My Imagi EcoPrint” as part of the Europe Day celebration. “I am delighted how the children solved a not-so-simple task visually. The great interest in getting to know the screen-printing process, something completely new to them, showed how much the children love to learn and discover,” said the artist Iva Ivanović, who led the workshop.

 

Children’s task was to design their own sign that would symbolise their fingerprint as a signature to planet Earth, a pledge to protect and care for it. At the workshop, children were introduced to clean energy and screen printing. As a final product, we got confirmation and a designed “pledge” that they would implement all the things they learned about.

 

Art workshop “My Imagi EcoPrint” is one of a series of events as part of the Europe Day celebration. My Imaginarium is an artbook that combines children’s imagination with renowned Montenegrin and regional illustrators. The children had the “task” of designing and drawing an imaginary being that was later “brought to life” by the young artists.

Europe Week 2023 celebrates skills and EU support in Albania

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Europe Week 2023 started in Tirana, on May 16, with the inauguration of the mosaic of the façade of the National Historical Museum, restored thanks to the EU4Culture programme. Ahead of the inauguration ceremony, a special dance performance  took place at Skanderbeg square with choreography by Enada and Gerd Vaso. The eveningcontinued with a concert.  
The journey continued to some of Albania’s most remarkable cities, where local talents have flourished with the support of the EU. Shkodra, with its rich history and artistic heritage, will be the next stop of Europe Week 2023, on 19 May, with the authentic “Xhubleta Festival”. Producers of various elements of the xhubleta will show their skills to young people. An exhibition by photographer Roland Tasho showing personalities dressed in xhubleta, a parade with this centuries-old garment and a performance of the Shkodra Ensemble with the Xhubleta dance will close the celebrations. In Cerrik (20 May), we will hold a Training Career Day at a professional high school and celebrate the International Bee Day.  
In Vlora (21 May), known for its stunning coastline, we will highlight the positive impact of EU investments in the infrastructure of the city and the skills required to be able to offer the best service possible to the many tourists visiting the region.  
The stonemason Ermal Makri, in Gjirokastra, will show to young people through a masterclass how to make art with stones and keep the ancient family tradition alive (on 22 May). The week will close with the celebrations of Europe Week 2023 in Tirana on 26 May with a digital fair and festive concert at the Polytechnic University. 

Boosting private sector finance for investments under Global Gateway and Economic and Investment Plans

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The, European Union (EU), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and emerging-market asset manager ILX Management are partnering to boost private-sector finance in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, the Western Balkans, Türkiye, the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean and Central Asia.

 

The partnership is expected to facilitate co-financing by Dutch and other European pension funds of up to €300 million over the next three years. The investments will bolster the finance available for sustainable development, particularly in climate-smart solutions, digital transformation and financial inclusion for projects that would otherwise not have benefited from private-sector participation. They will be supported by EU guarantees through the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+) Guarantee Programme. The EFSD+ guarantee structure will enable ILX to co-invest with the EBRD with the same risk-return profile.

 

The EBRD is working to enhance its partnerships with private institutional investors in its countries of operation, to support its goal of doubling private co-financing by 2025. This partnership is an important part of that process.Developing greener, more inclusive and more digital economies lies at the heart of the Bank’s work in all the regions where it operates.

 

Mobilising private sector capital is also central to the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy, which aims todeliver large-scale investments of €300 billion in sustainable and high-quality projects by 2027. This strategy will support partner countries in their green and digital transition, as well as in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). This partnership will provide ILX with a broader range of highly impactful investment opportunities in EBRD countries of operation that directly contribute to the SDGs in emerging markets. ILX is currently managing ILX Fund I, which investson behalf of leading Dutch pension-fund managers, including APG Asset Management. Other Dutch and European pension-fund participants are expected to join future ILX funds.

Commissioner Várhelyi in Bosnia and Herzegovina for High-Level Political Forum

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Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, will be in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, today, on 17 May. He will co-chair the first EU-Bosnia and Herzegovina High-Level Political Forum together with Borjana Krišto, the Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina.  
The Forum, further attended by representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Heads of Clubs, the Prime Ministers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, the Prime Ministers of ten Cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Mayor of Brcko District, will discuss EU reforms efforts on the path to the European Union following the European Council’s decision to grant candidate status to the country.  
In its October 2022 recommendation for candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Commission stated that it stands ready to continue supporting the efforts of Bosnia and Herzegovina on its European path by further engaging in policy dialogue and by setting up a high-level political forum to monitor the implementation of the steps outlined in the recommendation and report on further progress on the ground.  
The Commission will report again in the 2023 enlargement package, expected in autumn, on the state of implementation of the 14 key priorities set out in the Commission Opinion on the EU membership application of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

#IDecide Awareness Campaign Raises Awareness on Local Elections in Albania

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During the recent Albanian local elections, #YEAs in Albania upheld the tradition of the #IDecide Awareness Campaign, aimed at promoting active participation in local elections. The campaign successfully reached four cities: Korça, Rrëshen, Selenica, and Bulqiza, where they engaged with young people to educate them about their political rights, emphasize the significance of taking part in electoral processes, and empower them to report any instances of electoral misconduct.

 

To conclude the campaign, a Final Conference was held. The conference focused on discussing the campaign’s findings and recommendations, analyzing voting trends during the elections, and highlighting the impact of corruption on voter turnout in democracies.