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Author: WeBalkans

EU and Kosovo Government awarded 45 new scholarships for Master’s studies to the current and future civil servants in Kosovo

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The European Union and the Government of Kosovo awarded in Pristina 45 new scholarships for Master’s degree studies in the EU to the current and future civil servants from Kosovo. This is the 13th round of scholarships awarded under a joint Young Cell Scheme programme that aims to improve the work of public administration and the services it provides to all people living in Kosovo.

 

“Education is key to advancing Kosovo’s development in all spheres of life, including its EU integration path. I am happy to see that the number of young people benefiting from our Master’s scholarship programme is increasing year after year and that by working as civil servants, they are bringing about the positive change in the way Kosovo’s public administration functions,” said the EU Ambassador in Kosovo, Tomas Szunyog.

 

The EU started supporting the masters-level education of civil servants in Kosovo in 2004. Since then, through the previous 12 rounds of scholarships, 364 civil servants were educated in areas deemed most necessary by the Government. The EU’s total contribution to the Young Cell Scheme programme will amount to  €15.3 million, including the 13th, 14th and 15th rounds of scholarships to be completed by 2026. A total of 470 young people should benefit.

 

Kosovo Government started co-funding the programme in 2011 and supports rounds 12 to 15 with  €2.5 million.

Oktoih Elementary School Students visit Europe House

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Europe House was honoured to host Oktoih Elementary School second-grade students from Podgorica. The children from class II-3, led by teacher Jasna Radovic, expressed their desire to learn about the work of Europe House and the history of the European Union. Europe House was happy to meet them.

 

The Europe House team presented the activities it performs and through interesting and interactive video games, presented the European Union to the children from its beginnings to the present day. The young girls and boys had the opportunity to learn about interesting things from the countries of the European Union, famous European scientists, and artists.

 

After the quiz, the students toured Europe House and socialised with the team members by playing table football and darts. The gathering ended with cookies and unique gifts for the children, and a boy named Lazar thanked the Europe House team on behalf of his class. The little ones promised to continue socialising with Europe House and visit more often. For its part, the Europe House team promised them many more interesting events and the welcome they deserve every time they decide to be part of the “European story.”

EU launches campaign to encourage progress on the EU path – ‘Progress is within reach.’

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The EU Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina has launched a campaign to encourage progress on the path to the EU entitled ‘Progress is within reach’ (Napredak je nadohvat ruke). This campaign ties in with the ‘Always in the Heart of Europe’ (Oduvijek u srcu Evrope) campaign, which followed the award of candidate status, including a recently published video with artist Hanna Dujmović, and aims to engage political leaders and the general public in Bosnia and Herzegovina to move forward with the reforms that would bring Bosnia and Herzegovina closer to the EU.
 
“The path to the EU is the most important shared strategic objective for Bosnia and Herzegovina. I have accompanied the EU’s top officials to meetings with their BiH counterparts, and since the elections last year, I have met authorities at all levels in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I will also continue travelling around BiH in the coming weeks to engage with authorities and members of the public. Our message is the same – Bosnia and Herzegovina must use the opportunity presented by candidate status to make progress with long overdue reforms. I understand that many in this country are frustrated with the lack of reform, and I share this frustration. But with political will, progress is within reach. The opportunity presented by the new momentum in EU integration must not be missed,” said the Head of the EU Delegation and EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Johann Sattler.
 
The political engagement across Bosnia and Herzegovina carried out by Ambassador Sattler and officials in the EU Office in Bosnia, and Herzegovina is supported by a video broadcast on TV and social media that reinforces the message to BiH citizens that Bosnia and Herzegovina is always in the heart of Europe, and also that progress is within reach.

Cultural Tourism in BiH as the Next Stop of Economic Growth

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Students of the Faculty of Economy and Academy of Performing Arts from the University of Sarajevo and students of Economy, Department of Tourism, from the University of East Sarajevo, discussed on 7 March the opportunities and challenges for further development of cultural tourism and the impact it has on the economic growth of BiH with Ambassador Johann Sattler, Head of the Delegation of the European Union and EU Special Representative in BiH.  
“Cultural tourism has become increasingly important in recent years, as more and more tourists seek authentic experiences that allow them to immerse themselves in the local culture. At the same time, this type of tourism significantly impacts the local economy, supporting businesses and creating new jobs. As a country with a unique cultural heritage, an endless variety of natural attractions and recognisable hospitality, BiH has a huge potential for developing tourism, which can play a key role in the economic future of BiH,” said Ambassador Sattler.  
The panel discussion was organised as part of the new programme of the EU in BiH for students from BiH’s state universities, “Generation Change”. The debate with students was also attended by Benjamin Sturtewagen, Head of Diplomatic Office of the Kingdom of Belgium in BiH, Asja Krsmanović, Manager of Sarajevo Film Festival Competition Programme, and Zana Karkin, an entrepreneur and founder of the concept store Bazerdžan.

Kopaonik Business Forum – time for action

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The resilience of the economy in uncertain times: The main challenges for Serbia and the Western Balkans – is one of the panels of this year’s Kopaonik Business Forum, where Emanuele Giaufret, Ambassador of the European Union to Serbia, spoke. This is not the time for procrastination, but for decisions and reactions – said Giaufret, talking about the Western Balkans.  
Ambassador Giaufret drew attention to the war in Ukraine as the primary challenge that Europe is currently facing, and then to the issue of energy, which arose from that war. Nevertheless, he emphasised that the EU started to solve energy challenges very quickly.  
The 30th Kopaonik Business Forum, a gathering of economic experts and eminent businessmen with more than 1,500 participants from the country and the world, started yesterday and will last until 8 March. The central theme is the resilience of the economy in uncertain times and the key challenges for Serbia and the Western Balkans.

Twenty displaced families receive keys to new RHP homes in Kalesija, Bosnia and Herzegovina

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On 7 March 2023, 20 displaced families were awarded keys to newly-constructed Regional Housing Programme (RHP) apartments in Kalesija, Bosnia and Herzegovina.  
In addition to the beneficiaries themselves, the event was attended by Gianluca Vannini, Head of Operations, Section for Social Development, Civil Society and Cross-Border Cooperation at the European Union Delegation to BiH; Edin Ramić, Minister of Displaced Persons and Refugees in the Federation of BiH; Sead Džafić, Mayor of Kalesija; Nermina Džepar-Ganibegović, RHP Country Housing Project Lead Manager at the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees of BiH; Sanja Hamidović, Programme Manager at the EU Delegation to BiH, and Aleksandar Čađenović, Government Liaison Officer at UNHCR.  
On behalf of the European Union – the main Donor to the RHP – Gianluca Vannini warmly congratulated the beneficiaries on their new homes and the BiH authorities for completing approximately 2 530 housing units to date but observed nevertheless that efforts still needed to be invested to ensure the integration of the families within their communities.  

From Belgrade to Niš at 200 km/h – EU financial package of €2.2 bn for Railway Corridor X

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On 28 February 2023, the European Commission, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Serbia announced jointly a €2.2 billion financial package for the modernisation of railway Corridor X. The package focuses on rehabilitating the railway section between Belgrade and Niš, enabling a high-speed rail connection of up to 200 km/h between the two cities, with a faster flow of goods and services, and rapid integration into the EU railway network.  
The package includes an investment grant of up to €598 million from the EU – the largest EU grant for a single project in Serbia; a €1.1 billion loan from the EIB, and a €550 million loan from the EBRD. The EU has already approved €265 million in IPA grants, and the first tranche of €82.8 million was sealed by a protocol signing on the train from Belgrade to Niš.  
The signing took place in the presence of the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Olivér Várhelyi, and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, as well as the Head of the EIB Office for the Western Balkans, Alessandro Bragonzi, the Director of the EBRD for the Western Balkans, Matteo Colangeli, the Minister for EU Integration, Tanja Miščević, the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Goran Vesić and the Minister of Finance, Siniša Mali, as well as EU Member States’ diplomats.  
Railway Corridor X is one of the pan-European corridors connecting Central Europe with Thessaloniki, Greece. It has been identified as Flagship 1 – Connecting East to West, within the EU’s Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans. The plan aims to mobilise investments in transport, energy, green and digital transition, to create sustainable growth and jobs reaching one–third of the GDP of the Western Balkans.

YEAs of Montenegro organise a panel discussion on Social Media Activism and Gender Equality

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YEAs of Montenegro organised a panel discussion in Europe House on social media activism and gender equality. The panel discussion aimed to educate the participants on the importance of gender equality, its benefits, and how they can actively promote gender equality in their personal and professional lives using social media as a primary channel/platform.  
The discussion also included guest speakers such as Nikola Ilic, who has been actively involved in the protection and promotion of the human rights of LGBTIQ persons and gender equality formally since 2016, Nina Kriticki, the author of her SoMe page “Kriticki” and a very outspoken person in the community and Young European Ambassador Edina Osmanovic. The event was moderated by Young European Ambassador Iva Korovic, with Iva moderating the session.  
At the event, the participants defined gender equality and its importance in promoting social, economic, and political justice. They also discussed the various forms of gender discrimination and inequality and similar topics.

Energy connects us

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Delivering on the promise that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made in Skopje in October 2022, the EU provided North Macedonia with 80 million EUR to tackle the energy crisis. “Energy connects us” is a campaign launched by EU Delegation in North Macedonia for promoting this support.

 

“Energy connects us. It connects us in these times of scarcity that we are witnessing all over Europe and globally, as a result of Russia`s inhumane war. It connects us in sharing the burden. And it connects us to the future through our efforts to turn to clean sources with minimum costs for the environment”, said EU Ambassador David Geer.

 

This assistance is part of a 1 billion EUR-package that the EU has prepared for the Western Balkans, as investments in clean energy. Not counting more than 250 million EUR for reform of the energy sector in the country that the EU provided with the support of the international financial institutions and EU Member States.

YEA in North Macedonia organize an event to mark “Rare Disease month”

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February is Rare Disease Month, and 28 February is international Rare Disease Day. On the initiative of Irena Shumenkovska, a Young European Ambassador (YEA) from North Macedonia, a discussion was organized on 28 February on the occasion of the International Day of Rare Diseases.

 

Speakers at this event were His Excellency the EU Ambassador to North Macedonia David Geer, the first lady Professor Dr. Elizabeta Gjorgievska, doctors, professors, representatives from associations for rare diseases and students, who made an active contribution to the debate. The debate was moderated by the Young European Ambassador Irena Shumenkovska. The discussion aimed at contributing to improving the status of people with rare diseases, finding a suitable drug and equal access to the drug because life has no price. Health, good quality of life, treatment and care are fundamental human rights of every individual.

 

The event was organized in cooperation with the Delegation of the European Union in North Macedonia, Europe House Skopje and We Balkans.